Love Makes You Crazy
by hatashikitty
Summary: Takes place after Ice Age 3. Living in dinosaur valley is an adventure for Buck, but the loneliness is dragging him to the deep end. Then out of the sky, a mink falls into his life. She's a pampered mammal, but chooses to stay with Buck to toughen up.
1. Chapter 1: Somewhere

(Author's note: This is my first comedy/romance, so I hope everyone enjoys it. I wasn't even going to share this story, but I decided that some parts were just too funny to keep to myself. I hope to actually finish this fanfiction since I have a history of starting stories and not finishing them. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who reads it. Also, I'm not very good at writing accents. I could have made Buck's even more so, but I heard from someone that's it's best not to write accents too much or they become unreadable. Hopefully, everyone will hear Buck's in their mind enough ^.^)_  
><em>

_Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high.  
>There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.<br>Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue.  
>And the dreams that you dare to dream<br>Really do come true.  
>Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.<br>Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops.  
>That's where you'll find me.<br>Somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly, birds fly over the rainbow,  
>Why then - oh, why can't I?<br>If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,  
>Why, oh, why can't I?<em>

_ -Lyrics by E. Y. Harburg_

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter One: Somewhere

By Hatashi Kitty

Once again, Rudy was on his tail. So close, he could smell the dinosaur's breath all around him, feel the wind from snapping jaws on his fur and hear the reverberations from the giant feet stomping on the ground.

"Whoo ah! Come an' get it!" Buck shouted as he flipped from one tree trunk to another, waving the tooth knife in the air like a bull fighter would wave a red cloth. He liked to make Rudy mad.

The thunder lizard roared in anger at the memory of his missing tooth, determined to avenge the empty space in his jaws. However, the giant beast was so focused on his small target, he did not notice what was coming in front of him. He saw little too late the arched crevice in the mountain side the Buck slipped through. Rudy tried to move backward as soon as he could, but his head burst into the crevice and stayed. He moved side to side, back and forth, but his scaly head was stuck fast.

"Sorry, boy. Maybe next time," Buck said with a wild grin, winking his one eye.

Rudy roared in frustration as he saw his hated enemy getting further and further away.

Buck didn't stay around long. He knew that Rudy would be out of that in a few minutes. But he didn't have time to play around. It was getting darker, and he had to get home. He checked the leaf package he had tied onto his back to make sure it was in one piece, and headed to his treetop home.

It was a cozy place, built from a hollow petrified tree. Sure it wasn't as great as living in the treetops, and it wasn't his idea to move down there; but he'd do anything for love.

He scrambled up the tree until he came to a leaf door. He straightened his eye patch, dusted off his fur, took the leaf package of his back and went in.

"Honey, I'm home," he said, and knocked on the tree trunk so that the fireflies that lived in his home would wake up and give some light. He bent down to one of the chairs he had carved, and kissed his pineapple wife. Then he straightened up in surprise. He was always surprised by just how ugly a pineapple she was, but today she was mad and ugly.

"I know I'm late. I had t' go t' the other side o' the valley to get the pine-nuts you wanted," Buck explained to his wife. He paused for a while. "Yes, that's the only place t' get them. I told you that when I left this mornin'."

A pause.

"Well, I coulda been back earlier if I didn' get your pine nuts," Buck argued. He kept trying to talk, but it was as if someone kept trying to interrupt him. "I just. . . I did. . .I was goin'. . . Yes, I did run into Rudy. No, I didn' mean t'. I told you, he's trackin' me. An' if I don' go t' see him, he'll get lonely. What? I don't love him!" Buck threw his paws up in the air. "You never liked Rudy. You never tried t' understand him."

Buck sat on his haunches, pouting. Then he looked back as his wife, an eyebrow lifted. "Say what? Our anniversary? Since when?" He stood up surprised. "Three months! Since when is that an anniversary. No, I didn' forget, it's just three bloody months. No, I won't lower my tone. Let the neighbors here. Fine, maybe I'll just go to bed too." With his face wretched with irritation, he picked his wife up in his arms and marched to the bed room. He turned around quickly to knock on the wall, letting the fireflies turn their luminescence off. He put the pineapple on the leaf bed on her side, and then dropped on his side, pulling the covers up to both of them.

"Good night," he muttered grumpily, turning on his side away from her. After laying in the darkness for a while with his own thoughts, his anger started to subside. He timidly looked behind his shoulder.

"Are you still awake, baby? I'm sorry, I didn' mean it," Buck said apologetically, sitting up and turning to his significant other. "You know I work hard everyday just for you. I love you, baby."

The light around his wife softened a bit.

Buck's face turned to realization. "I forgive ya, babe. Look at that. We just made up," he said with a smile. Then, seductively, he put a hand over the leaves that covered the pineapple. "You know what that means then, eh love?" He lifted his eyebrows in an enticing way. Then quickly he pulled his hand away.

"Oh, you have a headache? Oh, that's too bad. We'll, you should get some sleep then," Buck said, trying not to look too disappointed. He lightened his voice. "I'll see you in the mornin'. Good night," he told her, kissed her lightly and then turned back on his side.

And even though Buck was tired from his excursions from the day before, he couldn't get to sleep. He adored his wife very much, despite her unfortunate looks, but he couldn't help but think that some of the magic from their lives had drifted away. And while he tried to think of a way to make it up to her, his thoughts danced away from his pineapple love to what awaited him tomorrow in the jungle, the thrill of not knowing where the next danger lay in wait for him and if Rudy would try again to get his tooth back.

* * *

><p>Above the ice sky that contained the dinosaurs' and Buck's world, many other animals, both big and small, found shelter for the night, daylight still around for a little while longer in their world. Some animals wander all day and have to find a new place to sleep each day, but for others, they stay in the same place unless they must migrate.<p>

Deep in the ground, around the roots of a grove of trees, a large family was getting ready for the night's rest, more creatures in the holes and crannies than usual. Most of them were very excited since it was the first time so many of them were together. Others were excited because for the next few days, it would be like one big party. But for one, and she was very, very unhappy with her family.

"Tundra, how many times must I tell you, you should keep your tail wrapped up in leaves so it won't get dirty," a motherly voice called through the burrow.

Tundra sighed and grumbled, swallowing a comeback to throw at her mother. "I don't see why. You'll just make me wash it again tomorrow before the rehearsal."

"Darling, a mink should take pride in her fur. We have one of the best in all the world," Tundra's mother said as she touched her daughter's chin. "Be grateful you weren't born a ferret."

"If I was, maybe I'd actually have had a normal childhood," Tundra grumbled, and moved away from her mom. "I never got to play outside unless I sat on leaves, I had to brush my fur one hundred strokes before I went to bed, and I would have to sleep with my tail in a curler. I swear, mom, you should be called in for child abuse."

Tundra's mother laughed as if this were a regular joke. "You'll thank me later, darling. Once you've married that handsome hunk of a mink two days from now, you'll be so happy."

"How can I be happy with him?" Tundra asked, looking sad. "I've never talked to him before, only sat next to him at one of your boring dinner party."

"Have you seen him? If your father wasn't alive, I'd marry him," Tundra's mother said, and sighed like a young mink just thinking about her future son-in-law.

"I can't believe you said that in front of dad," Tundra said in disbelief, and looked at her father who was standing silently behind his wife.

The reddish mink looked up as he was mentioned, and smiled shyly at his daughter. He looked as if he wanted to say something to his daughter, but his wife moved in.

"Oh, tosh. He knows I'm joking, don't you?" she said with an indifferent wave of her paw. She didn't even wait for him to say anything in return, but continued on. "Oh, you'll look gorgeous against the white snow. I always thought that it was a shame that you took mostly after your father, but now that you're all grown up, you're quite stunning."

Tundra gave her mother a small smile, knowing that this was the best compliment her mother could give her. She looked down at her coat, a reddish brown color. Her father's fur.

"Of course, you got my eyes and tail. You'll make that husband of yours very happy," her mother continued on.

Tundra's spirits fell again. _What about my happiness?_ She asked her mother silently. She then sighed and said, "I think I'll go to bed early."

"But you didn't visit with your cousins or aunts and uncles. They came all this way to see you," her mother complained.

Tundra's eyes drooped at the thought of having more family moments. She didn't think she could take it right now. "I'm sorry, but I'm so tired. I'll see them tomorrow," she said. She went over a kissed her mother on the cheek, then did the same to her father. "Good night, Daddy."

Her father gave her a loving smile and touched her face delicately, but didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

As Tundra left her parents, she ran into two more minks, this couple quite elderly. The male had to walk with a gnarled twig.

"Going to bed without seeing us, are ya?" the elderly male mink asked with a wink.

"Grammie! Pop-pop!" Tundra cried out, and hugged them both. "I didn't know you'd come in yet."

"I'd never miss my little granddaughter's weddin'," Grammie said. She wiggled something around in her mouth and then spat it on the ground.

Tundra looked down at them with care. She loved her father's parents very much.

"What's the matter, honey?" her grandfather asked, seeing something was disturbing the younger mink.

"Oh, it's nothing," Tundra said, not wanting to upset them. "It may just be pre-wedding jitters."

"Jitters, nothin'. I knew it, this arranged marriage was a bad idea," her grandfather said, suddenly getting angry. "Don't worry about it, I'll knock that mink so hard he won't be able to make it to any wedding."

Tundra laughed loudly, not saying anything to stop her grandfather. "I just might have you do that," she said.

"Oh, there's my little girl's smile," Grammie said, and pinched her granddaughter's checks even though the female mink squealed about it hurting her.

"I'll do it, you just say the word, honey," Grandfather said, lowering his stick.

"It's not him that's the problem," Tundra admitted, her tongue loosening after a good laugh.

"Then what is it?" her grandfather asked.

Tundra seemed almost embarrassed about discussing this to her grandparents. "Well, it's just that, I was kind of hoping that I would do more before I got married," she told them, rubbing her arm. "I mean, like an adventure. A real one where I'd have to survive just by my wits and get to see the world. Just like your stories," she said with a smile. "But I guess that's gone and past." She lowered her head.

There was silence for a while, but then Grammie tilted her head back with a groan, one paw touching the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache. "Oh, dear. It's happenin' again," she said dramatically.

"Are you okay, Grammie?" Tundra asked, looking worried. Perhaps the long journey was too much for the old gal.

"I'm having a vision again," Grammie said, grasping for Tundra's paw with her other one.

Pop-pop winked at Tundra. As everyone in the family knew, Grammie was famous for having "visions" especially at parties. Most of her visions involved very gruesome deaths for the person who happened to be closest during her vision.

"I'm seeing. . .I'm seeing. . .Oh goodness, child. You're death, it's not very clear, but I have a feeling that you'll die in pain, it'll be slow and agonizing," Gram said mysteriously.

Tundra rolled her eyes. "Grammie, I know that. You've been seeing my painful death since I was three," she told her grandmother with a playful smile.

"But that isn't all," Grammie said, and then looked Tundra in the eye. "Before you die, you'll have the grandest adventure any mink has every had." Gram gave her a warm smile, and patted her on the hand. "Don't worry about it. Everything will turn out as it should."

Tundra felt a warm shiver crawl up her spine. It was like the feeling one gets when one knows something bad will happen, but completely opposite. It was like luck had run it's finger through her fur.

"Okay, that's enough excitement for you, sweetheart," Pop-pop said, taking his wife's hand. "I think it's time to get Grammie to bed. Look at her, she's already shaking."

"That's you that's a shakin'" Grammie growled. "But I guess those visions take a lot out of me." She patted Tundra's arm. "You sleep well, my lovely one. You do look jittery."

"Maybe I'll come in and tell you a story of Captain Firefox, the Ice Pirate," Tundra's grandfather said with a warm smile. "It'll be the last time I can tuck in my little girl."

Tundra wanted him to so much, but she was afraid that if she talked anymore, she'd start to sob. And not the happy "I'm about to get married" tears, but something sad and remorseful.

"No, it's fine. I'm really tired. Goodnight, you two," Tundra told them with one last hug.

Tundra watched them go with a loving eye. The one thing she wanted most of all was that one day she would have someone she loved that much, and the two would still be that in love once they were old and shriveled. Tundra turned to her room, her head held higher. Perhaps tomorrow will hold that special someone for her. Maybe this arranged marriage is for the best.

* * *

><p>Buck had left his house quickly. His wife had once again brought up why he had to go out all the time, and once again he had to explain what he did all day. Foraged, hunted, surveyed the territory and protected her from dangers all around them; you know, everything they needed to survive. But she just complained why he couldn't do that stuff at home. He had retreated quickly once she had her back turned, rushing into the fresh air.<p>

By Rudy's right claw, he loved that ugly pineapple more than. . . well, more than a lot of stuff but nothing came to mind, but he loved her nonetheless. But he wished that she would be more understanding about who he was and wouldn't keep nagging him to call her every hour.

There was a roar that sounded throughout the valley.

Buck smiled, gripping his tooth knife. "I'm comin', big guy," he whispered, and was off once more.

* * *

><p>The grove of trees was full of minks of all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. Many of them Tundra recognized as family, but mingled with them were unfamiliar faces. She guessed that these were her fiance's family, and each one looked her up and down as if the judge and jury were still out on their decision. Not only did that make her nervous, but this so called male she was suppose to marry tomorrow had yet to arrive.<p>

"Oh, our happy, happy bride doesn't look so happy," a sarcastic voice told her.

Tundra turned around with a bright smile as soon as she recognized the voice. "Frost!" she cried and rushed to her favorite cousin. "You made it."

"Of course. I gotta be here to make sure this male is good enough for ya," the sassy mink said.

Tundra suddenly felt more relieved than she had in a long time. Frost had been her best friend since they were old enough to open their eyes. Even though Frost was the daughter of her mother's sister, she seemed to be the most level headed mink in the family. Even though she looked like a perfect angel with her snow white fur, it didn't take her long to establish herself as the black sheep of the family, rebelling against everything her mother and all her sisters stood for. If anyone knew for sure if this wedding was a bad idea, Frost would be the one.

"I'm so glad you're here," Tundra said, and held onto her cousin as if she were her only life line.

"Is it that bad?" Frost tried to squeeze out enough air from her lungs.

"You have no idea," Tundra said. "I think I'm going crazy here. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, or if I'm just nervous or what is happening to me."

"Calm down, you're rambling," Frost told her. "Listen, do you remember when we were kids and all our cousins thought we were crazy when we told them we were going to run away from home and live with prairie dogs and have all sorts of adventures."

"Yeah," Tundra said, her mind going back to simpler times which seemed to calm down.

"Well, if a time ever came to fulfill that dream, now is the last chance to do so, girl," Frost told her. "There's no turning back after tomorrow."

"What should I do?" Tundra said, her brain starting to shut down again from nervousness.

"First, stop acting like a chipmunk in a wolf's den. You're make me tremble from watching ya," Frost said, giving her cousin a light slap on the cheek. "Second, think about walnut pie."

Tundra loosened up. "Mmmm, walnut pie."

"Now tell me what you want to do," Frost said quickly. Unfortunately, she only got a blank look from Tundra.

"I don't know?" the bride-to-be said timidly.

Frost sighed.

Suddenly the crowd of minks started to talk loudly, some of them jumping up and down trying to look over their neighbor's heads to see something.

"The groom is here," a voice called out, and others repeated it for the benefit of all.

The crowd parted, and let in a brackish colored mink, tall and full-bodied. And for a mink, full-bodied meant that he had been well-fed. Not too fat, or he wouldn't fit in a normal burrow, but fat enough to look like he was ready for a long winter. He walked with his eyes half-closed as if whatever was happening was boring. He stopped in front of Frost and Tundra, and looked them over.

"This is her?" he asked a prudish looking mink beside him that could only be his own mother. "You've got to be kidding me. She's not much to look at."

His claw was pointing at Frost. Her eyes widened, and she looked ready to start a brawl.

"Not her, the other one," the mother told her son, her prudish face not changing for a minute.

The male looked Tundra up and down, his face looking much more please. "Yeah, I can get used to that," he said, and then leaned into Tundra's face and wrapped a paw around her. "Hey, my name is Rocky, as in I Will Rock Your World. Maybe after the rehearsal dinner we can go somewhere and rehearse for the honeymoon as well."

Tundra was frozen where she was, feeling like his whispered words were loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rocky stepped behind her to move toward the front of the crowd, but stopped to look at her again. "Mmm, nice tail. Save it for me, okay?" he said, and slapped her on the backside.

Tundra finally squeaked in protest, but still felt frozen from his words. All her senses seemed to close up, and she couldn't hear a thing. But she could see Frost's mouth move quickly, and everyone around her looked offended.

* * *

><p>The sun was shining, the snow was bright and the day was completely new from a night's rest. While most nocturnal animals would find this situation rather annoying, two night dwelling mammals had found enjoyment out of the day.<p>

Since their "sister" had found her significant other, the two opossums had abandoned their night life and took to staying awake during the day. And it wasn't like the two never slept until they felt like it anyway.

Crash and Eddie, from the moment they open their eyes from their places on the tree branch, were a pair of energy packed marsupials that lived in the moment. And at times, their rambunctious lifestyle was a little too much for Ellie to handle, and today she yelled at them for winding up Peaches right before her nap time. That was usually the sign for them to go somewhere else for a while and bother someone else for a chance.

The twins bounded across the snow, up and down hills, throwing snow balls at each other and trying out stunts that most likely ended with a bump or a bruise. It wasn't long before Eddie spotted a large crowd of mammal bodies gathering in a glen of trees.

"Hey, Crash. What going on over there?" Eddie asked, and pointed out the crowd.

Crash stopped to look where his brother was looking. "Are those minks?" he asked with a tilted head.

"Really? Minks?" Eddie asked in surprise. "They must be having a party. I hear minks throw posh parties."

"Yeah, with honey covered nuts and fresh fish," Crash said, feeling his mouth water.

"And eggs. They usually have eggs," Eddie said, licking his lips.

As the two dreamed of the wonderful foods they've heard were served at high class parties, Crash formed a plan in his mind that gave his eyes a glint.

"Dude, I totally have an idea," Crash said with a grin. "We're totally going to crash that party."

Eddie gasped. "Like they're going to let us in, the snobs," he told his brother.

"But I have a plan," Crash informed his brother.

Soon the two were marching up to the group of minks, noses in the air and their faces showing that they had hardly a care in the world. Just as they were about to enter the glen, a pair of large minks who looked like they were formed from rocks stepped out and stopped the two opossums.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of the mink bouncers asked.

Eddie looked a little uncertain, but Crash didn't drop his act. "We're going to the party."

"No, you're not," the bouncer told him with a sneer.

"But we were invited," Crash told the bouncer, and stabbed him in the chest with a claw. He tried to hide from the two minks that the gesture had hurt him.

"Yeah," Eddie added, gaining more confidence. "We're expected. So, let us through."

The two minks chuckled. "No, you're not," the same mink said.

Crash tried to look here. "Now, listen up you. . .you. . .dung brains. If you don't let us in, you're both going to be in a lot of trouble. We personally know the birthday boy."

A few seconds later, the two opossums found themselves sailing through the air as they were tossed out and tried their best not to land on their heads.

"Oh, that was great, Crash. Brilliant," Eddie yelled sarcastically at his brother while nursing his sores.

"I said I had a plan. I didn't say it was very good one," Crash admitted, and brushed the snow off his pelt. "It was probably an anniversary. My mistake."

The two went off without another thought about the party, at least until the next day.

* * *

><p>For once, Buck had looked for Rudy instead of the other way around. He needed a distraction right now. And Rudy was the best therapy he could ask for. He had ambushed the baryonyx, which gave the giant beast a large surprise.<p>

Buck jumped down from a tree as Rudy was taking a drink, and landed right between his red eyes.

"Hallo, Rudy. Miss me?" he asked, and pulled on the dinosaur's eyelid and let it go with a snap.

Rudy tossed his head and roared in anger and pain. Never in any dinosaur's life had there been such a great nuisance in such a little package.

Buck held on to one of the large nostrils as Rudy thrashed around, whooping and hollering in ecstasy. Now this was a ride. Finally his grip slipped, and he shot into the air. From an aerial view, he watched Rudy stop thrashing, and look around suspiciously for the weasel. As Buck descended, he was able to grab a vine before crashing into the ground, swinging along side Rudy's face.

"Come an' git me, ya big chicken," Buck shouted, jumping from vine to vine.

Rudy charged after him without hesitation.

Buck's swinging had taken him into a part of the land he called The Cracks of Agonizing Pain. He liked the sound of the name, even though sometimes he giggled at the word cracks. But it was no joke, it was a deadly area and if one wasn't careful, the cracks in the earth would shoot a geyser of hot water and air right under you. It could melt the fur off his tail if he wasn't careful.

"Do you want a lovely snack, Rudy?" Buck shouted at the charging dinosaur. He jumped off his last vine, and as he dove down to the ground he kicked a rock right onto a crackline. He stopped running.

Rudy plunged right at Buck, not suspecting the weasel had a trap ready. Right when the dinosaur was about to snap his jaws over the tiny mammal, a geyser set off right under Buck's rock, and torpedoed into Rudy's mouth.

Buck laughed maniacally. He wasn't sure if his plan would work, if it didn't he'd be dead. But that was half of the joy of being with Rudy. One could never tell if they were lucky or not that day. He moved more rocks along the geyser, tip-toeing around to make sure he didn't end up like one of his projectiles. One by one, they shot up into the air, most of them hitting the dinosaur. However the rocks were only as big as pebbles to the thunder lizard, and only made him angrier. Buck could see that, and needed something more. Then he spotted just what he wanted. A tree nearby was rotting, slowly bowing to the ground. One or two really good pushes would put it in the path of the geyser cracks. He crawled halfway up the tree, and pushed again another tree for leverage.

There were no more rocks shooting off at Rudy, which gave the dinosaur an opening with Buck distracted. But the weasel wasn't about to say die yet. He pushed and pushed as hard as he could, and just when he was about to abandon the plan to running, he felt the roots give out and it fell. Buck bolted away.

Just as Rudy's neck moved over the fallen trunk, the geysers went off pushing the tree trunk at an incredible speed at the creature's neck. The impact caused him to fall backward, the fall making the earth rumble from his weight.

Buck looked out from over some rocks, looking at the damage. He could see the carnivorous lizard's side heaving, but he gave no sign of getting back up and resuming the chase.

"Better luck next time, mate," Buck said with a mock salute, and ran off for his next adventure.

If Buck only knew that his indirect influence only resulted in sending another off on adventures as well. If only Buck knew that not all of his rocks hit Rudy, but some flew off into the sky, reaching as high as the layer of ice that separated the dinosaurs from the rest of the world.

* * *

><p>Everyone at the wedding rehearsal stopped at Frost's choice of words. Some mothers were putting paws over the ears of younger minks in case more dirty words were said.<p>

Pop-pop was nodding his head as he smacked his gums, and Grammie said in a loud voice, "Dang straight he is."

The air erupted in a gust of voices, some accusing and some defending. Arguing and shouting ensued, some apologizing and some claiming that Frost was just saying figure of speech.

"Frost?" Tundra said in a small voice, feeling violated as she could remember the male mink's paw on her skin.

"What is it?" Frost asked, looking concerned. Tundra still hadn't moved.

"I know what I want," the other mink said in a timid voice. "I want to run. I want to get away from here. I'm tired of this being what's normal in my life. I can't take it any more. I want something different than this. I know it may sound crazy, but anything else, even something radically different would be so much better than this. I don't want to end up one of them."

"That's the way, girl," Frost said, looking very proud of her cousin. "That's your heart talking. Well, you go out there, and have that adventure." She gave her cousin a wink. "I'll distract them." Frost disappeared into the crowd. She found a mink she knew, one with a quick temper, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, that guy over there just said that your sister was ugly and she should never have had children."

"What?" the mink shouted, and immediately ran over to the other mink and threw a punch. "That's for my sister, jerk!"

While minks may feel like they are higher up and better than every other animal on God's earth, that didn't stop their wild side from taking over. In a pinch, a mink can be very ferocious, especially once their sister has been insulted. A fighting spirit was aroused in the crowd, and every mink that was holding a grudge started throwing punches. Within the chaos, nobody noticed as a single mink running away, trembling from fear and excitement.

She had finally done it. She had escaped. Tundra could feel freedom saturating her entire body. She no longer had to worry about brushing her fur, meddling mothers and eccentric family members. She could do whatever she wanted to, go where she wanted and say what she wanted.

Tundra slowed down. On the other hand, she also had to start worrying about food, shelter, predators, weather, and many other factors that could leave her a dead mink. But a free mink nonetheless. That thought alone made her believe that she would make it.

Suddenly there was a loud crack at her feet as if something came up from above and hit the ice she was standing on. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Tundra looked down, and the ice was cracked in thin spider web lines. How thick was the ice? Would it hold her? She carefully started to life her foot, but more spider web cracks formed, and she set it down again.

"Great," she said to herself. "Not even two minutes free from the funny farm, and I'm going to die."

Was this the painful, agonizing death her grandmother saw? Did she see her granddaughter falling through the ice, falling into below zero temperature water and waiting to either drown or freeze to death? The thought made her tremble, which weakened the already week ice.

There was a loud crack, and Tundra screamed. She reached out, and grabbed hold of the ice, digging her claws into the cold surface, hearing the noise of them scratching.

If this had happened to Tundra last week, she would have been able to escape this fate that was before her. However, due to her wedding, her mother had her claws trimmed and filed in neat stubs. It was a luxurious gesture, but one that wasn't good for those who wanted to live in the wild. And for Tundra, her claws weren't long enough to dig into the ice. She slipped across the ice until it was just her paws clinging to the edge.

"Help! Someone help me!" she cried out. She hadn't run very far, maybe one of her family members could hear her. But the longer she hung onto the ice, the more her hopes disappeared. Finally her paws slipped on the ice, and she found herself falling. It was surprising to her how slow everything went at that point, how she wondered when everyone would miss her and when Frost would realize she wasn't coming back. She wondered who would eat her wedding cake, and why it was taking so long to fall into the water. Even turning her head to look where she was falling seemed slow. The only thing that didn't slow was her heart, which was pounding like a mammoth stampede.

When she looked down, she gasped at the sight. Green everywhere, mountains and lakes, steam rising from volcanoes and creatures moving all over. It was like she had fallen into a whole different world, and she wondered if she fell through the ground or out of the sky.

It took her a few seconds for her brain to register that while the view was pretty, she was still falling and the ground was coming closer to her every second. Every strand of fur on her body puffed out, and she screamed in horror. She did nothing but scream, her body didn't see the use in anything else.

She only stopped screaming when the ground did a curious thing. It started to move away from her. She closed her mouth and studied the ground. Was it any different than her ice world? Did it occasionally moved away from you? It was almost like she was flying.

Then she felt the pressure on her tail. She looked up, and saw a giant, featherless bird with sharp teeth above her, her fluffy tail caught in the beak. Once again Tundra looked at the creature with curiosity, her brain working over the problem of what this meant for her. This is what her brain came up with:

Featherless bird + scales = dinosaur. Dinosaur + sharp teeth = Carnivore. Carnivore + tail in it's mouth = I'm dead.

The screaming continued.

And even while she screamed, her brain still continued on. She did not think about why there were dinosaurs even though they should be extinct or why they were living below her world. She was wondering if this was her slow, painful death her grandmother predicted. It would fit.

The dinosaur soared onward, trying to ignore it's prey's wild screaming. But she wouldn't have to listen to the mink's last utterances any longer, for her nest was close by.

Tundra paused for breath, and saw that a small bit of the ground was coming toward her once again, but not as fast. On the cliff side was a nest made of leaves and twigs. At the sound of her wings and the sight of her shadow, miniature versions of Tundra's captor crawled out, squeaking and squawking while opening up their hungry maws.

_Oh, so this is going to be my agonizing death_, Tundra thought to herself, watching the baby dinosaurs. _I'm going to be ripped apart by hungry babies until I'm nothing but a tuft of fur on the side of their nest that will eventually be carried away by the wind._ Tundra was able to spend what she believe were the last few seconds of her life left to reflect on her thoughts. They were very poetic.

Then she started screaming again.

* * *

><p>Buck saw the pterodactyl even before he heard the screaming. He was always glancing up at the sky, you never know when those featherless buzzards would swoop down and try to get a weasel snack. However, the beast was far enough away for him not to worry about it. Then he heard the screaming.<p>

It sounded like a rabbit caught in its jaws. He could see that the prey had fur, so he could be right.

"Poor wretch," Buck muttered. But that was life. The beast had to eat something.

But then something close to kinship to the mammal. He hadn't seen another creature with fur since that strange herd came by some time ago. Saving them and their friend sloth was probably the most fun he had in ages.

"Well, maybe it'll work a second time," Buck thought, ideas of new adventures dancing in his little weasel mind. He clamped his knife in his teeth, and ran off on all four paws toward the pterodactyl's nest.

* * *

><p>Tundra thought it was funny what went through her mind just moments before she was about to die. She could feel gobs of saliva running down the mother pterodactyl's beak into her fur, soaking her with foul smelling liquid. The only thing that she could say in her internal dialogue was <em>Mother would be so mad that I let my coat get so dirty and messed up.<em>

The tiny razor sharp teeth of the babies came closer and closer to the mink as the mother lowered her prey down.

Tundra did what instinct told her to do. She crawled up her own tail and hugged the adult pterodactyl's beak for dear life.

In surprise, the mother let go of the mink's tail. Immediately, the mink jumped away from the flying dinosaur, over the nest and onto the dusty ground of the aerie.

Freed but not safe, Tundra ran to the cliff's edge and looked down. Her eyes widened at the long fall. It wasn't a straight cliff side, but the slope was still quite steep. In a quick second decision, she started running down, gravity pulling a lot faster than she could run. She tripped and started to roll, the only thing that saved her was a lone bush that stubbornly grew on the side of the cliff. Before she could fall through the bush, the mink clung to the foliage.

With a shrill cry, the pterodactyl mother was back in the air, diving down to where Tundra held on to the bush, ready to retrieve her children's meal. It took her a while, but she hovered slowly to the bush, clawed feet reaching out to snatch the mink.

In the moment that Tundra closed her eyes and expected to feel sharp talons sink into her flesh, something extraordinary happened. She heard a deep battle cry, and an astonished squawk from the pterodactyl. When she remained untouched, the mink opened her eyes. Stunned, she watched with her mouth slightly open as a weasel wrestled with the dinosaur in mid air, whooping and laughing all the while.

The weasel continued to harass the winged creature for a few minutes, enjoying his flying bucking bronco. He then jumped off her, and with a few flourished flips, landed on the bush next to Tundra.

"Ready t' go, mate," he said, and picked her up by a pawfull of scruff pulling her to her feet. "Git ready t' jump."

Tundra had a look on her face that said she'd never be ready to jump, not from that height. Instead, she let go of her grip on the bush and exchanged it for one around the weasel.

Buck stood still, his one eye fixed on the pterodactyl as it prepared to go after the two of them.

"Come on, ol' gal. Come git yer slice o' weasel," Buck challenged, his teeth set in a wild grin.

The pterodactyl charged, and at the same time Buck jumped up through the air with Tundra in one arm in a back flip. To her credit, for once Tundra didn't scream in the face of death, her voice was too petrified. Her eyes were glued opened on this horrible scene she was living through, and as she turned in mid air she could see the dinosaur run full speed into the side of the mountain. It didn't take her system long to realize she was still in danger of death from falling once again.

Buck pulled out his tooth knife, and rammed it into the side of the cliff, leaving behind a long scar as their descent slowed down.

"This is where the ride stops; please be careful as you exit the vehicle," Buck said in a professional tone.

Tundra, who had her whole body pressed against the weasel and her tail wrapped around him tightly, looked down. Miraculously, she was not dead, and the ground was a mere three feet away. Timidly, she disengaged herself from Buck and dropped to the ground where she crouched in a trembling ball.

Buck pulled against the rocky cliff until his knife came loose, landing by the mink deftly. "We should skedaddle now, that dang buzzard up there isn't goin' be distracted long," he said, looking up at his handy work. When he looked down at the rescued mink, he was surprised to see her still in her ball. "Well, come on then," he said and started trotting away.

Seeing her rescuer running away, Tundra's instincts once again kicked in. She was off like a flash on all four paws, a blur that shot past Buck.

"Whoa, I didn't mean that fast," Buck called out, and raced to catch up. He wasn't about to let his hard work go to waste and let the mink run into the open jaws of another hungry dinosaur.

Tundra didn't think as she ran, she just wanted to get away. At the first sight of a shadowed hollow under some tree roots, she dodged into the darkened niche. While the most of her body had stopped moving, her heart beat was faster than a gazelle, her lungs heaved from the exertion and her nose continued to sniff for any sign of more danger. She clutched her tail in her paws like some child who had a bad dream.

Buck finally tracked the mink down, casually walking to her hole. "I've seen some fast runnin' in my life, but I think you'd leave them all in the dust. I could barely keep up," he said, and jumped up to sit on one of the tree roots. He looked down, waiting for a response.

Tundra didn't move, but her brain registered what she heard. Even in her sheltered life, she knew a weasel when she saw one. As a minkling, she remembered stories about wild weasels and their ferocity; they were cunning creatures and often would steal food from others. But despite the bad rep she heard about them, she couldn't ignore the fact that this particular weasel had saved her from certain death. But why?

"You're a nervous fellow, aren't ya mate?" Buck asked, and leaned back against the trunk lazily. He'd wait however long for the mink to come out. There was no hurry. "You sound like a rabbit, quake like a mouse, and look like pig's wallow, but what are ya? I'd guess ferret, but I know ferrets to be dirty fighters. That buzzard back there wouldn't have a chance."

Tundra was determined to actually say something. She ran her tongue around in her mouth preparing to speak. "I. . .I'm a . .a. . .mink."

Buck was surprised by three things. One that the creature spoke, two and three. . . "Well, I'll be. A female mink. Didn't expect that in my neck o' the woods," Buck said, looking down in the hole to see a nose starting to emerge. "You're the sorriest looking mink I've ever seen, though. But I guess that explains the shakin'." He examined the mink further, seeing that there were gobs of mud in her fur, twigs and pieces of bush and foliage. Tufts of fur had been pulled out and mussed. Never had he seen a mink look so un-mink like.

Tundra felt embarrassed, but she wasn't sure if he related her cowardice to her species or gender or both. Trying to be a bit bolder, she took a careful step out from under the roots.

"You're a long way from home, mink. I suppose you'd like some help t' get home," Buck said, wondering if this wasn't going to turn out to be the grand adventure he'd hope it would.

Tundra took another step, enough that she could turn her head up and look up at Buck with wide blue eyes. She nodded slightly.

"We'll that won' be a problem. We'll just head for the cave an',. . . Ah wait, scratch that. I destroyed that way out," Buck said with wild laugh, remembering how fun it was. "An' I don't think there's any other way out. Wait, how did you get here anyway?"

Tundra didn't feel like she could explain the whole thing without stuttering some more, so she just pointed upward.

"Wha? From the ice sky?" Buck said, his eyes wide at the long drop. He chuckled. "No wonder you're shaking like a frozen rat. That must have been quite a fall, wasn't it Angel?" He chuckled.

Tundra started shaking harder as if to agree.

Buck scratched his chin. "I'm thinkin' you're not used to havin' near-death experiences," he guessed. "I always say that everyone should have one everyday, and then they wouldn't be such a big deal." He stood on the tree root, and jumped off to the ground, startling Tundra a bit. "Alright Angel, I'll tell ya what. I'm gonna t' promise you, I'll git you home safely, somehow. But until then, you'll have to follow my rules."

Tundra nodded readily.

"Rule #1: Always listen to Buck," the weasel said sternly.

Tundra looked at him blankly, her eyes starring.

Buck's stern face dropped. "Buck is me," he explained.

Tundra nodded readily, now understanding.

"Rule # 2: There is no rule number two," he said seriously, starting to circle Tundra as if inspecting her. "And Rule # 3: Do Not Panic! Do you understand?"

Tundra nodded, hoping she could do her best.

"Alright then," Buck said, straightening up and smiling confidently. "Let's move out." He took a step in his chosen direction and started off. He didn't get far when he felt a tug on his back end and fell flat on his face. He looked back, and saw the mink had a hold of his tail and looked as if she were a toddler trying to learn how to walk. Buck rolled his eyes. _Tourists. She probably still feels weak from the scare._

"We're goin' need t' take more than baby steps if we want to be home by nightfall, Angel," Buck said as he picked himself up and dusting off his pelt.

"Sorry," Tundra muttered, and dropped the weasel's tail. She had panicked once she saw Buck leaving her, and her legs felt like slush beneath her. Before she knew it, she had the tail in her paws and used it as leverage to get started to walk. "I was just. . ." she tried to explain.

"Come on, Angel-girl," Buck said, his voice said almost impatiently. He grabbed her paw, and led her away, going slowly to accommodate her slow steps.

At first, the two could only go as fast as Tundra was able. But after a few minutes, she was able to match Buck stride for stride. However, with her strength back, she practically shadowed the weasel the whole time, keeping a strong hold of his arm with both paws. She was continually looking around with big, blue eyes, ears pivoting around for any sign of danger. She was the picture of absolute caution.

Buck tolerated the mink's actions for a while until his arm felt numb. "Relax, Angel-girl. You're safe with me. I can handle anythin' that comes our way. Don't worry."

That didn't ease Tundra a bit, despite what she had seen the weasel too. The male weasel was bigger than her easily, but the size difference was small to dinosaur standards. How could she believe his words? But yet his bravado did comfort her, and she loosened her grip.

Part of him even comforted her. It was almost like she was in one of her grandfather's ice pirate stories. Buck could easily be one of the pirates. Not one of the bad ones that takes captives, but one of the good ones that saves minks from packs of wolves and sabors.

"At least anythin' but Rudy. If he showed up, coo, we'd be in a tight spot," Buck said congenially.

Tundra was once again clinging to the weasel, her imagination pouring through the possibilities of what a "Rudy" was. And as if she wasn't scared enough, but the sky suddenly turned dark. She started to tremble again.

"Ah, blast it. Is it that time already?" Buck growled, looking up at the ice sky. The sun was already setting. It grew dark pretty early in the valley; it was one of the disadvantages of living below the horizon line. _My wife is gonna kill me_, he thought. "Well, it looks like we're going t' have t' camp out here tonight, Angel-girl."

Tundra did not like the sound of that. Camping? She'd never been camping before. "O-out in the o-open? C-can't w-we find a b-burrow to sleep in?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"We could," Buck said with a shrug. "That is, if you want t' sleep with snakes. Might be fun." He looked at Tundra's large eyed face, and smiled. "Ah, I'm just kiddin' ya, Angel. We'll sleep up in the trees. Far much safer than on the ground." He sized up a tall tree, and nodded up. "Come up, then." He put his knife in his teeth and started climbing up.

Tundra looked up at the rough bark looking nervous. If she wasn't able to hang onto the ledge of ice, would she be able to climb up the tree with her clipped nails? Seeing that she had little choice in the matter, she did what she could, gripping onto the tree instead of clawing her way up. Because of this, her ascent was very slow.

After climbing halfway up, Buck looked down to see how his companion was doing. He was shocked that she was barely off the ground. _Don't tell me she's scared of heights too,_ he thought to himself. He scrambled back down the trunk until he was level with the mink.

"What's the hold up, Angel-girl?" he asked after he took the knife out of his mouth.

Tundra looked very embarrassed. Here was this kind stranger helping her through this whole ordeal, and she couldn't even climb a blasted tree properly. "It's my claws," she muttered, not meeting his one eye. "They're trimmed."

"Bloomin', you really did fall from heaven, Angel. You're about as prepared for this world as much as a snowflake," Buck said, grumbling a bit. At a first look, the mink female didn't look like much under the grime, but he could tell after their short travel that she had been pampered. She looked like she was used to eating fish, and eggs every day. He wondered if she had even been outside before today.

"I'm sorry," Tundra muttered, feeling about as useful as a rock.

Buck shrugged. "I guess there's no other way. Jump on me back, then."

"Wha?" Tundra muttered surprised.

"If you what t' climb the tree yourself, be my guest, but it'll take all night. I won't wait for ya," Buck said, and put his knife back between this teeth.

Tundra took his offer, nearly falling back down as she hung around his neck.

As soon as the mink was secure, Buck started back up the tree, not as quickly as before, but at a fair pace. Tundra was surprised by it, and she knew she couldn't be a light weight. Mink's liked to eat very well.

It didn't take the weasel long for him to make it up to the top branches. He choose a thick one and moved onto it.

"There ya go, Angel. Safe an' sound, for tonight at least," he said in a light voice. "In the mornin', who knows?" he said with a shrug.

At this point, Tundra felt like she didn't have the energy to be scared any more. She crawled across the tree branch to give the weasel room. Only when she was sure she wouldn't fall off did she look him in the eye. "Thank you," she whispered, feeling so much gratitude for her rescuer.

"Ah, think nothin' of it, Angel. We still need t' find a way home for ya," Buck said, and dropped into a sitting position. He watched the mink curl up, wrapping her long tail around her body. "That's at least if Rudy doesn't find us. We'll, good night."

With that note, Buck closed his eyes, but he didn't really fall asleep just yet. He let the noise of the jungle fill his ears, the soft insect chirps and buzzes enjoying the noises.

Tundra, on the other hand, found the noises exotic and creepy, her wide eyes darting one way to another. She felt like if she didn't watch every direction at once, something would pop out and grab her. Not one part of her felt like she could fall asleep.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

Tundra nearly jumped when she heard Buck's voice again.

"You havin' trouble sleepin'?"

Tundra nodded her head, feeling once again a pest for the weasel.

"I know the cure for that. How 'bout a bed time story?" he suggested, giving her a grin.

Tundra didn't indicate that she did or didn't want one, so Buck went on.

"I'll tell ya the time I came down here myself," Buck told her, jumping onto his feet to tell his story. "There I was, mindin' me own business as I explored an ice cave when BAM the ground quits right where I'm standin'. The next thing I know I'm slidin' down a tunnel and come shootin' out into this jungle. Now, I'm already disoriented from the ride down, so it took a while for me t' realize I had landed in a raptor's nest. And believe me, if there's one place you don't want t' be, it's in a raptor's nest. Lucky for me, mommy raptor wasn't at home. Unlucky for me, a couple of scavengers were raidin' the nest. It took all of us to get over my surprise, and jump out o' the way. A few more seconds, and the buggers woulda got me. But they didn't let me go; they thought a tasty meal had landed at their feet, so they kept at me. I was dodging left and right, runnin' just as frantically as you did back there. After a while, I realized the lizards weren't goin' to let me go, so I had to think o' somethin'. So I grabbed a vine, and ricocheted from a tree back at those nasty dinosaurs. Were they surprised when this weasel leaped into their faces. I dodged one snappin' jaws t' another until I had them all tied in a knot. Probably took them all day t' free themselves. Oh, now that was a story. Now, good night, Angel."

Tundra's eyes had widened even further through the story, wondering whether raptors or any other dinosaurs could climb trees. At first, the action story reminded her of the stories her gradfather would tell her late at night. Stories about pirates and explorers, fighting predators or riding raging mammoths, or even training those strange humans how to talk. But this story that Buck was telling wasn't like those stories. She started to trembling, making the branch shake a little.

Buck noticed. "Oh, don't worry your little mink head, Angel-girl. Ol' Buck will keep watch. I can wake up faster than you can blink. You'll be fine."

Tundra stopped shaking. At that point she started think realistically. If what this weasel said was true, he could take on multiple dinosaurs. Not only that, but he took them on at his first encounter. He wasn't even prepared for them. Not to mention, he had saved her quite impressively. Somehow this made her feel better, and she stopped trembling. Her eyes even managed to start closing. However, before she dropped to sleep, there was one thing that bothered her that she wanted to say.

"Buck?" her quiet voice whispered.

"Yeah?" Buck responded, surprised that the jumpy mink had said something on her own.

"You never asked me my name," she said, her voice starting to sound sleepy.

Buck smiled to himself. "Alright. What kind of name does an angel have?"

Tundra yawned. "It's Tundra," she said, and her mind finally submitting to unconsciousness, feeling safer now that the weasel knew who she was. It may have sounded crazy, but she did feel safer.


	2. Chapter 2: New Soul in a Strange World

(Author's note: Yay, go for number two. I'm very excited that this story is going well. I'd like to thank the one person who's commented on my story. I love you. You are my new best friend. Let that be a lesson for all of you who read my story and not submit a review. Also, I live off of reviews, they make me want to write more. One of the main things I'd like to know is what kind of stuff do you like in my story? I'd also like to know your opinion of my OC Tundra. Thanks everyone!)

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 2: New Soul in a Strange World

I'm a new soul

I came to this strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.

But since I came here,

Felt the joy and the fear

Finding myself making every possible mistake

I'm a young soul

In this very strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake

But why all this hate?

Try to communicate

Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

This is a happy end

'Cause you don't understand

Everything you have done

Why's everything so wrong?

This is a happy end

Come and give me your hand

I'll take you far away

I'm a new soul

I came to this strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.

But since I came here,

Felt the joy and the fear

Finding myself making every possible mistake

By Yael Naim

Tundra woke up immediately, something that she was very proud of later on. She was usually a heavy sleeper, and it would take her a few minutes to be aware of anything in the morning. But on this day, once her eyes opened, she immediately stood up and was looking all around cautiously. She didn't feel very nervous, at least not as nervous as the day before. That is until she realized that Buck wasn't with her. She looked around and down frantically, looking for the weasel anywhere. She never expected him to drop down from above.

"Good morning, Angel-girl," Buck said, continuing to use her nickname. "'How 'bout some breakfast?" he asked, setting down a leaf with fruit on it.

Tundra looked down at the food. She had not eaten for almost a whole day now and her stomach rumbled, but something inside her felt nauseous as well. Cautiously, she picked up the fruit and ate slowly in case her body started to reject the nutrient. After a few bites, she started eating faster, her stomach wanting more.

Buck watched with no emotion or judgment, just ate one piece of fruit slowly without commenting on the mink's actions. He let her eat her fill before standing up and announcing it was time for them to go.

Tundra looked back down the tree, looking as if she wasn't looking forward to climbing back down. And she also didn't like the idea of making the weasel carry her down like a dead weight. However, when Buck offered her a lift, she didn't complain, but silently held onto him. Little did she know that her rescuer wasn't going down the normal means.

Buck jumped off the branch with a wild grin, the joy of free falling helping him to ignore the mink's screams. He grabbed a vine in mid air, and used his legs to help them swing in a long arch. Once they had reached the limit of that vine, Buck reached out for another one.

At this time, Tundra summoned all of her nerves to close her mouth and open her eyes. Her heart and breath was still quick, but she was determined not to make a complete fool of herself today. Just half a fool. And she was glad she did, because the view of swinging from the vines was incredible. Sure, the fear of being eaten, falling or running into a tree was still there, but it was pushed further away.

"See there, Angel. It's not as bad as ya thought," Buck chuckled.

Tundra smiled wanly, even though the weasel couldn't see it. After a while, she started to enjoy the swinging, the wind on her fur and the thrill of moving so fast through the air. She was almost disappointed when there were no more vines, and Buck slowed them down enough to jump off. The mink was quick to let go of the weasel, not wanting to be more of a nuisance than she already was.

"So tell me," Buck began to say as he walked at a leisurely pace, "what's it like up there in heaven?" He gave her a crooked grin as he continued with his own private joke.

Tundra walked next to him, trying to be as normal as possible although her nerves were still on end and butterflies still fluttered in her stomach from the swinging. "It's full of relatives," Tundra said with a heavy sigh.

"Relatives, eh? Doesn't sound too bad," Buck told her with a shrug.

"You obviously don't know my family. Or minks for that matter," Tundra said, simply. She didn't say anything else, but left it at that. Maybe it was best for Buck not to know that minks were a high minded lot that didn't care about anything else but themselves and getting the upper hand over other minks. And her mother's family was no exception. Oh, if her mother saw her at that point, there would be no end to what the female mink would have to say about her daughter's position. And then there was her father's family. . . No, it was best that Buck not know. He might come to the wrong or right conclusions about her.

When Buck saw that the mink didn't look very happy when she mentioned her family, he wondered if there was something more to this pampered female. "So you run away from them, eh?" he asked with half a smile while cutting away some foliage so they could move forward.

Tundra almost laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. Here she was, a full grown mink, and she ran away from her family. "Yes, as stupid as it sounds, I did. I should have been able to leave the nest years ago, but my mom is such a manipulative female. She's the kind of person who believes her way is best, and won't stop nagging you until you give in to her. She's shallow and irritating, I just couldn't take it any more," Tundra prattled on, not realizing how much she let her emotions take over.

_Almost sounds like. . ._ Buck started to think, but shooed the thoughts away. He was certain the mink had it worse.

Tundra felt herself get embarrassed. _So much for not telling him about my family._ "Sorry about that. You probably can't imagine growing up in that kind of environment. I always dreamed that I would be able to have an adventure, and I guess that's the biggest reason I left," Tundra said, feeling embarrassed that she'd been talking so much. "And just look how good at that I am. In all things considering, I should be dead. I can't even make it out on my own for one day. Maybe my mother did have the right idea."

"You shouldn't let that git t' ya, Angel-girl," Buck said, trying to cheer the mink up. "Not many mammals could survive down here. I make it look easy. I even knew a mammoth that would have been flower food if it weren't for me. Soon, you're going t' look back on all of this an' laugh."

Tundra scoffed. "Sure. I wish I could laugh right now. I could use it," the mink muttered.

Buck lived by instinct, he never thought about what he was going to do next. Thinking took too much time. By the time one would think of stepping out of danger, they could be dead. He listened to his weasel gut, and did what it told him to do. His instincts were telling him to push Tundra now. So he did. Hard.

The mink wasn't expecting it, and lost her balance. She lost her balance, and fell right into a puddle of mud, coating herself with a fresh layer of grim. She glared up at the weasel, who was having a good laugh at the sight of her. "What did you do that for?" she shouted. But before she let the weasel answered, she scooped up some mud, and flung it at the weasel's face.

It would be hard to tell who was more surprised about the fact that Tundra had actually hit

Buck. In an instant, Tundra already had an apology on her lips, stunned at her own tenacity to act upon her anger. However, she never got a chance as the weasel jumped at her with a war cry. The mink was ready to dash, thinking that Buck had gone crazy and decided she wasn't worth keeping alive anymore. However, the mud made it difficult to get away. In the end, she was only splashed with the slop as Buck landed next to her in a ball, a crazy grin split his weasel face.

That did it, Tundra accepted Buck's challenge for a mud war. While she was shoveling mud and exchanging fire with the one-eye weasel, she felt like she was a kid again, playing with Frost where they weren't suppose to, getting dirty no matter what kind of trouble they would be in later on. It didn't matter to her that she had fallen through the ice sky and nearly died, or that she was now acting like a child with a weasel, rolling around in a mud hole like a pig. She smiled and laughed more than she had in years.

And Buck felt a secret joy that he had teased that smile away from the timid mink.

After a few minutes of the rough play, Tundra called for mercy, wanting more relief from laughing than throwing, her sides hurting from the strain she wasn't used to enjoying. She crawled to where Buck was and lay on her back as the laughter subsided, watching the leaves of the tall trees dance in the sunlight. For a while, she started to marvel at this new world she landed in. She was born into a life of ice and snow, learned how to keep her coat thick and warm to stave off the chill and long winters. Even when summer melted most of the ice and brought green, but there would still be patches of snow and the nights would remain chilly. But last night she slept out in the open without shivering, (from the cold that is). There was more green and bright colors than she had seen in her entire lifetime. Maybe even in her parents' lifetime. It was just like paradise.

"Do ya remember what rule number three is?" Buck asked in a soft gruff voice.

Tundra didn't even consider that as a warning, but just said in a normal voice, "Yeah, it's don't panic."

"I'm going to need ya 'o keep that rule in mind an' don't move," Buck told her, his voice even lower.

Tundra, only then, picked up on what was going on. She lifted her head a bit and saw two long snouts with razor teeth moving through the jungle nearby. Only a few seconds of watching, another head appeared beside them. She looked around, and saw at least three more around them. She sat bolt up, and tried to get on her feet so she could run, but something strong grabbed a hold of her.

Buck pulled the frightened mink to him, undoubtedly his strength over powering hers. He hissed at her, "I told you, do not panic. Don't move, or we're both dead."

His growl steadied her, and Tundra stopped moving. But the sounds and sights of the dinosaurs walking around them on two legs was almost too much for her. To prevent herself from disobeying Buck, she held onto the weasel around the chest and pressed her face into his muddy fur. She concentrated on his strong heart beat and breath to close out the horrible dinosaurs calls. It was beating fast, but not as fast as hers. It was like comparing a gazelle to a mammoth when they were running, hers was obviously faster, but his was strong and steady. In fact, his heart beat didn't sound like he was scared at all, but excited. She had no doubt after seeing him grin in the face of death that this Buck was one creature that was thrilled by this sort of thing. He was confident in everything he did, holding nothing back. His unceasing bravery and blunt honesty were two things that was rare for her to encounter, made her trust this weasel completely.

And at that point her fear subsided quite a bit, but her heart beat was still racing; fear had been replaced by something else that made her blood pump just as hard.

Buck sat completely still despite the uncomfortable position he was in. He was leaning back a bit from the weight of the female mink. He had one arm around her in case she didn't follow his directions, his other arm halfway around Tundra but extended out at the elbow with knife in paw in case he had to use it. He watched with interest as the pack of raptors circled the mud puddle, their snouts sucking in air to pick up the scent of prey. They circled around and around, as if they could smell something but the trail ended abruptly. Just as Buck predicted, the mud masked their scent and camouflaged them. After a while, the raptors gave up, and stalked away.

By this time, Tundra had stopped shaking as she started concentrating on other things. Buck's arm was around her tightly, pressing her to his body. Except for family members, this was the closest she had ever been to a male. Sure, he was a weasel, but it didn't take a genius for someone to know that there wasn't much difference between a weasel and mink. She felt her face feeling warm, but aside from that she was content where she was. She almost wished that Buck wouldn't have pulled her away from him.

"There, that wasn't so bad now, huh, Angel?" Buck asked her once they were eye to eye.

Tundra looked around with her big, blue eyes to make sure they were safe. She could still feel her cheeks blushing, but knew it would be hidden under all of the mud. She shook her head and smiled a bit.

"See, you're already gettin' used to things here," Buck told her, and slapped her on the back. He stood up, tossing his knife back and forth. "You shoulda seen them. They were lookin' for a bite to eat, but they couldn't smell where we were. Ha ha. Stupid raptors."

Tundra was surprised that she had lived through an encounter with a flock of raptors, something that should have made her start to tremble but didn't. The look in Buck's face said it all, even if they did find the two of them, the raptors would be the sorry lot. Then she thought of something. Did he push her in the mud because he knew that there were raptors? Or were they that lucky? Tundra eyed the weasel suspiciously. Any member of her mother's side of the family would have been the first to call Buck crazy, she knew her family very well to know that. At first, she accepted his eccentricities with little choice, having no decision on who her hero would be. But after a while, she started to accept Buck's strange habbits as a part of who he was. However, only now did she ever consider that there could be a method to his madness?

"Alright, let's go before they come back," Buck said, waving her one. "We're almost there."

Tundra trotted off to catch up with him. As she did, she felt the weight of the mud on her, making her feel sluggish. She could also feel part of the mud drying and making it hard for her to move. She didn't want to complain to him, so she started whipping off the mud as best she could. Her actions didn't go unnoticed.

"If you want something, ask for it. You don't have to be an angel here," Buck told her.

Tundra started to mumble something, sounding like an idiot.

"What was that? You want to go ride a triceratops. Alright let's go," Buck said, and grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

"No!" Tundra called out, believing the weasel to be serious. "I want to take a bath."

Buck stopped. "Whoa, was I off. Alright, Angel-girl. This way to polish that halo."

Tundra felt embarrassed again, feeling as if she were being babied by the weasel. She knew how much of a pain it was to take care of her. But what else could she do? Go off on her own and try to make it? She wouldn't last long without Buck. This adventure wasn't turning out how she'd imagine it to be. Is this really what her grandmother saw for her?

"Okay, here we are. The valley's best leech-less pond," Buck said, lifting aside a few leaves and letting Tundra have a good look at a sandy beach with soft, turquoise water, exotic water plants growing all around, and a light waterfall filling the pond up from above.

"It's very beautiful," Tundra said, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes it is," Buck said, and then his face filled. "Or is it the other one that's leech-less," he wondered a bit, thinking back. "No, the one by the rock that looks like a thumb has the leeches, the one by the Cave of Death has the crocodiles and this one has the giant fish in it. No sweat, I've got it cleared up, you don't have to worry about the leeches."

"Giant fish?" Tundra repeated, thinking of fat lazy fish swimming sluggishly through the water.

"Yeah, giant fish. They'll swallow you whole, that is if they don't rip you apart first," Buck told her.

"I almost prefer the leeches," Tundra said, thinking about rows of sharp pointy teeth.

"Are you joking? Those leeches are bigger than a saber-toothed tiger. They'd suck you dry in seconds. But if you'd prefer it, we can head off in that direction," Buck told and turned around.

"No no, this is fine," Tundra said, grabbing his arm. "Giant fish are fine."

Buck gave her a wild smile, and headed back to the water.

Tundra wondered if the weasel was teasing her, continually saying such shocking things to make her change her mind or if he was being sincere. He was such an unusual creature, and she couldn't second guess what he'd do or say next.

She walked to the water and slowly moved in. She sucked air into her teeth quickly when she saw Buck jump in from a rock and do a cannon ball. She loathed the idea of going into the water, thinking of the coldness seeping down to her skin. But it was either that or walk around caked with dried mud. However, she was given a pleasant surprise when she found the water warm. She walked in faster, forgetting about the cold temperature of the ice water she used to bathe in, wading in to her waist and dunking herself beneath the surface. She found some reeds and used them to scrub down into the layers of fur she had, pulling out burrs, weeds and sticks. She tried to get out all the snarls, but there was only one thing she could do for her tail with a few reeds. Then she remembered she didn't have to care anymore, who was going to bully her into looking as perfect as possible. She made sure she had cleaned off every bit of herself before moving out. She wrung her tail of as much moisture as she could and pushed out as much water from the rest of her fur. She felt sleek and slick with her coat laid flat, but she still looked like a plump, little mink princess.

She turned her head toward Buck to see if he was watching her. She didn't know why she was thinking that, except she was used to being looked at by others, especially males. But he was too busy swimming laps around the pond, not really watching.

She was disappointed that he didn't look at her, now cleaned up and normal looking. But why should it? Was she so conceited that she had to have every male look at her that way? No, no, she told herself, shaking her head. She wasn't going to turn out that way. There could be many different reasons why Buck didn't look at her. Sure, she was a pretty mink. But what good would that do in a dangerous jungle. And maybe weasels had a different definition of beauty. Or maybe Buck wasn't as shallow as the other creatures above the ice sky that would whistle and make cat calls around her. Either way, Buck was very different than anyone else she knew. It would only seem logical that he didn't look at her.

She shook those thoughts away from her head, chasing away any feelings of caring about what the weasel thought of her. She just wasn't going down this road. In fact, there is no road to go down.

She found a rock that was close to the water and away from the sand, and sat on it to dry while Buck continued to swim. She would have joined him since she did like the act of swimming, but she was just so tired and didn't think she could handle an encounter with the flesh eating fish.

Buck swam back into the shallows, the soft waves lapping at him. He rubbed his ears and shook his head to get the water out of them. Then he took his eye patch off. Tundra felt awkward staring at him, but she didn't want to look away as curiosity took her. She imagined that there would be a dark, empty hole where the eye should be, or if there was an eye it would be discolored and misshapen, the leaf patch to hide it from the rest of the world. But if there was an eye or a hole, Tundra didn't see it. Buck kept his eyelid closed, although she could see some white scaring on the lid.

"Blasted fish aren't biting today," Buck told Tundra.

"Huh?" Tundra said, trying to act like she wasn't staring at the weasel.

"The fish. I was sure they'd try to something. It would be nice to eat one for supper," Buck said, scratching his chin. "Looks like it's bugs and grubs again tonight."

Tundra made a face that said she was too disgusted to use politeness.

"I'm just jokin', Angel. My wife's a better cook than that," Buck said, and strode off into the jungle.

The sentence hit Tundra a little too hard, and she realized that she had just made a big mistake. She jogged back to Buck, following him shaking off drops of water. "Oh, I didn't know you were married," Tundra said, starting up the conversation. She suddenly felt an even worse burden than before.

"Yeah, we've been married for three months I think," Buck said, his eyes going soft. "She's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Tundra tried not to show her surprise at Buck's words. Was this even the same weasel?

"I wish I could remember how it happened to me," Buck said, staring off into the sky. "It was all so sudden that I woke up to her ugly face staring down at me. It gave me a start, I'll tell you that. But I guess that's love."

Tundra's eyes widened, now feeling like there was something wrong with the weasel. Nobody talked like that, not anybody she knew. He spoke with his mother's bluntness, but there was no condemnation or judgment in his voice. Just what made a mammal turn out that way?

"Those relatives you've mentioned, would any of them happen to be sea minks, would they?" Buck asked, changing subjects drastically.

"Uh? I don't know," Tundra stuttered after repeating the question in her mind. "Why?"

"It's just that you've got some red in yer fur. That's the color of sea minks," Buck went on, pointing at her pelt.

Tundra looked down at her self, her face changed to questioning. "Not that I know of. I got my red from my father, but he couldn't be a sea mink. No, not my father," Tundra said, remembering the stories she'd heard of sea minks. "My grandfather would tell me loads of stories about sea minks and pirates, mainly about Captain Firefur though. He's a sea mink, but he came north because the sea wasn't dangerous enough for him. He was the first ice pirate. One of the greatest in the whole ice age." Tundra's eyes glistened from remembering the stories. "I think that's why I wanted to go on an adventure."

Buck nodded. "Yeah, I remember the stories of Ol' Firefur," Buck said. "I heard he was a great guy. He let my great-great-great grandfather live, lucky for me," he told her with a wink.

The two lapsed into silence, and Tundra used the quiet to look down at her fur. She smiled and shook her head at the thought that she could have sea mink blood in her veins. Sea minks were a proud and cunning species. They were savage,yes, but they also were loyal to their kind. And they loved the sea as if it were their mate. Tundra became lost in some of the stories her grandfather had told her.

Yes, it was ridiculous to think that their blood flowed through her veins. Silly idea.

Then her thoughts turned to her father, and she felt an emptiness in her stomach. She started to wonder if it really was a good idea to leave her family. What was her father doing now? He'll obviously be worried, but what was he doing? Was he out there looking for her now, running through the snow calling her name? Did he think she was dragged off by a saber-toothed tiger or an eagle? She suddenly felt guilty that she hadn't said good-bye to him, and hoped that the least that happened was that Frost told him that she was alright

"Well, hurry up. It'll be dark soon, an' the little woman will have supper soon," Buck said, breaking the silence and picking up the pace.

* * *

><p>Tundra tried to smooth down her fur a bit in the half dark, worrying over the way her pelt looked. The water from the lake had caused it to lie flat for a while, but then it puffed out and her tail looked frizzy, so she fussed with it as she walked. She wanted to make a good impression with Buck's wife. After all, she'd be a guest. She went through all the little rules of etiquette that her mother taught her, but then thought again. If Buck's wife was anything like her husband, she might think Tundra was snooty with her mink up-bringing. So she decided to just act natural, and be as polite as possible.<p>

"Here we are," Buck said, coming to the hollow log. "Home sweet home."

When Buck led her in, Tundra felt a little better. This place was something she was more used to, a tunnel interior, enclosed and familiar, with furniture and a homey feel. It was much more modest than her family's burrow, but that made her like it even more.

"I'd like you to meet Tundra, sweetheart," Buck said, and he turned around to Tundra. "Angel, this is my beloved wife."

Tundra stopped in mid-step as she spotted the ugliest pineapple she had ever seen. And she'd seen some ugly fruit in her life. She was about to ignore it and greet Buck's wife, when she realized that Buck had his arms around the pineapple. Slightly confused, but remembering her manners, she forced a charming, albeit awkward, smile. "Hello, Mrs. Buck. It's very nice to meet you. You have a lovely home," she said, sincerely.

Buck smiled down at his wife in his arms, but then his smile dropped. "No, it's just what I've been callin' her. No, I don't think she's a real angel. That would be crazy," the weasel conversed with his wife.

Tundra just listened politely, even though she could here half the conversation.

"It's because she fell from the ice sky. Unbelievable, isn't it," Buck said, awe in his voice. Or was it envy? "I don't know why. She's been such a twitchy girl, I haven't gotten more than a few sentences from her at once. Maybe she'll tell us the whole story over a good meal."

Tundra tried not to think about how little she's eaten since her adventure started, least her stomach started to complain. She just waited politely to see what would happen.

"Wha? I didn't come home last night because I was savin' the mink here," Buck told the pineapple in defense. "You know that sometimes it's hard for me to come home. Sure, I could travel in the dark, if I was stupid. No, I'm not callin' you stupid, honey." Buck then stopped talking and sighed deeply as he waited for his wife to stop ranting. He made a gesture with his hand that mocked her talking, something that only Tundra could see.

"Yes, of course, sweetie," Buck said with a moan. "Alright, I'll set the table." He set his wife down in a chair, and started putting three pieces of bark, three egg shells and then he rummaged through a few coarse cupboards, and put a variety of food on the table. There were mushrooms, a variety of vegetables, seeds, nuts and a bundle of fruits, most of which Tundra never had because of their tropical nature.

Tundra's eyes were immediately on the food, trying not to stare with hunger. The mink also noticed with a sharp eye that most of the fruit were berries, nothing close to the size or shape of a pineapple in the lot.

"Well, let's dig in," Buck said, and sat next to his wife.

Tundra sat in another chair, looking at the food lustily. But she waited for her hosts to eat first as was proper.

"Well, don' be a stranger, Angel-girl. Dig in," Buck said, and stabbed a carrot with his knife before starting into it.

Tundra didn't need any other invitation, and tucked into the food. She only stopped when Buck started laughing at her. She swallowed the mouthful she had. She felt ridiculous, eating as if she had been hibernating all winter. She couldn't even go without food for a few hours.

Buck looked like his wife berated him. "I can't help it, she's so fun to tease," Buck told his wife. "Oh, alright. So, Angel, you were going to tell us your story. How'd you end up falling through the sky?"

Tundra remembered back to the day before and even before that. She was reluctant to talk about her arranged marriage. So in the end, she cut the whole thing out of her story, letting the weasel and his wife think that she just ran away from her crazy family. She mentioned her cousin's words to her and of Frost's encouragement to go find an adventure. She went on to tell how the ice broke underneath her, but she couldn't give a reason for it to. The mink trembled a little when she spoke of her fall, being caught by the pterodactyl, and nearly fed to her babies. She was to the point in the story where the weasel popped in to save her, and that's when Buck jumped in.

"You should have seen me, luv, ridin' that buzzard like it was lit on fire," Buck said grandly, standing up to act out his part of the story line.

Tundra didn't mind, she listened to the story, letting the weasel have his turn in the spotlight. During their short time together, she learned a few things about Buck. One of those things was that he liked to talk. Some of the stuff he said didn't make much sense, but it seemed to make sense to him. He had a knack for story telling.

"And that's what happened, luv," Buck said, giving his knife a spin before sitting down. His eye widened at his wife. "No, we didn't run into Rudy. Weren't you listening to what I was saying? Oh, don't start that again."

Tundra felt uncomfortable as Buck's voice level rose to that of domestic disturbance.

"I didn't bring him up this time, that was you. I'm not tryin' to argue with you, you started it, woman. No, I didn'. I didn' do it on purpose. Don' bring her into this, it isn't her fault. Me? How could you say that after all that I've done for you? Well, it was a surprise for me too, you know. Do you think I planned it all? Fine, I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

Buck picked up the pineapple, and took it into another room. When he came back, he looked very apologetic. "Sorry 'bout that, Angel. Wished you hadn't seen that. She's been a little moody recently. You know, hormones and all that," he said, his voice lower. He sagged back onto his chair, fumbling with his knife.

Tundra couldn't help but feel that the fight was partially her fault. At least, that's what it sounded like. She could almost feel the pineapple scowling at her at times during the meal. She suddenly felt like she should leave, but where would she go?

"I'm sorry. I'm intruding at a delicate time," Tundra apologized.

"It's not your fault, Angel. We'll it's about time to pop off to bed. Let me show you to your room," Buck said, back to his usual carefree self. He moved toward the back of the log, and brought her to a small room with a leaved bed. "Here is the mother-in-law suite. And don't let the name fool you, it actually is worse than implied. Well, good night."

Tundra was left alone, but she felt safe in the confined area. She could feel her muscles stiffening from the day's toiling; her body wasn't used to doing anything much less hiking miles in an untamed jungle. She stretched and rubbed herself all over, slowly crawling into bed. With a full stomach and a tired body, she expected to fall asleep right away.

But she didn't. She had too much on her mind right now to sleep. She starred into the darkness until she finally made a decision. Once she had, her eye lids felt heavier, and she could feel the fuzzy hands of sleep enclosing on her.

The only thing she worried about was the newfeelings that she was experiencing. But that could wait until morning.

* * *

><p>Peaches loved her two uncles. She couldn't say much, but she showed her love for them by hugging them with her trunk.<p>

Crash and Eddie knew that their niece was only trying to be affectionate, but she didn't know her own strength. They tried to show their love for the young mammoth in other ways. And one was joining Ellie when the two went on a walk. It also let them spend more time with their sister. They all lived in a strange herd, but that didn't change the bond they all shared. The two opossums grew up with their very large sister, and that made them family.

"Come on, Peaches. Come to Unky Eddie," the opossum called to the young mammoth while holding out his arms.

Peaches immediately ran to her uncle and it was only by the small mammal's good reflexes that he survived her enthusiasm. She giggled playfully as Eddie scampered away from her feet and jumped onto her trunk to climb up onto her head. Their little clawed feet tickled her.

"Whoa, slow down you three," Ellie called as she followed after them. "I don't want Peaches to get to far ahead of me."

"Relax, sis. We can watch her just fine," Crash reassured the she-mammoth.

"Yeah, I'm so sure," Ellie said sarcastically but with a loving smile.

The four continued to walk and play in the snow, and they didn't notice two brown forms sliding closer and closer to the group in a sneaky way.

Peaches spotted the two minks first, and looked a little stunned. They had the same shape as her uncles, but different colors. Not thinking, she went closer out of curiosity.

Seeing that his niece was interested in something, Crash climbed on top of her to see what she was looking at. However, he recognized the two long figures.

"Ahhhhhh. Run Peaches. Run," Crash told his niece, and pulled on the little mammoth's ear.

Hearing Crash's call, Ellie was immediately rushing to her daughter with Eddie on her tail.

The minks slid to a halt in front of the young mammoth who was more interested in the small mammals than listening to her uncle. The two mink bouncers glared up at Crash with bared teeth.

"You there, opossum. You're wanted for questioning," one of them called to Crash.

"Question this," Crash shouted, and slapped and waved his back end at the minks.

The two were about to rush him, mammoth or no mammoth, when Ellie showed up. The two backed up even more, ready to retreat.

"What's going on here?" Ellie asked, glaring down at the two minks near her daughter.

Eddie jumped up with Crash, and saw the two minks. He grimaced.

The minks stood their ground for a while as they realized the mammoth wasn't going to try flattening them. One stepped forward.

"This two are wanted for questioning. We've been given ordered to bring them in," the mink said with a puffed up chest as if it would make him look bigger.

Ellie looked down at the minks with anger. But after a while, her eyes turned to her two brothers. She raised her trunks and gave them each a blow to the back of the head.

"OW!"

"What cha do that for?"

"What chu you do now?" she yelled at them with a raised trunk.

"We didn't do anything."

"We're innocent."

"Yeah, right. You two are going with the nice ferrets. . ."

"Minks," one of the bouncers said politely.

". . .whatever, and answer all their questions," Ellie finished.

"But we. . ."

"NOW!"

A few minutes later, a group of minks looked up in surprise as two of their own escorted two mammoths into their glen. They were in so much awe of the large creatures that they failed to notice the two opossums riding on the smaller mammoth's back.

The two minks led the group to where a collection of minks had gathered. The minks divided a way for the bouncers to reach an older female that seemed to be the center of attention.

"We've found the two suspicious opossums that we saw yesterday. They're right. . .um. . .up there," one explained and pointed up at the baby mammoth's head.

Ellie gently pushed her brothers. "Well, get on with it," she told them.

The two opossums gulped and dropped down to the ground to confront the female mink.

The mink stood up, and turned a grim face toward the two opossums. "Where is my daughter?" she asked in a dangerous voice.

The two opossums suddenly felt more afraid of this female mink than of the two bouncers as they had to confront her.

"Who?" Crash asked.

Ellie hit him again.

"What?" he shouted at his sister. "We really don't know."

"We don't know your daughter," Eddie confessed, not wanted to be hit by Ellie again. "Honest."

"Then why did my nephews see you here?" the female mink asked with a deep frown and glaring eyes.

The two opossums couldn't lie to that face.

"We tried to crash the party," Eddie told her with a lowered face. "We didn't know anyone. We just wanted to have some fun, and maybe eat your food."

"Eddie! Crash!" Ellie exclaimed, glaring down at the two. "For shame!"

"It's not a big deal," Crash told his sister. "They kicked us out before we could even get in."

Ellie started to lecture her brothers some more, but then she noticed the female mink sitting back on her haunches, paws over her face and sobbing. And being Ellie, she had to do something.

"Is everything alright? What happened to your daughter?" Ellie asked, hoping that by knowing more she could help.

The two opossums flinched. They knew their sister too well. She was meddling and when she meddled in something, that meant more work for them.

"Today she was suppose to get married," the female mink sobbed into her paws. "She disappeared yesterday during the rehearsal. We can't find her anywhere. My nephews remembered these two opossums being here, and we thought they might have had something to do with it."

"I assure you. . .uh. . .Mrs. Mink, that my brothers may be idiots, but they're harmless," Ellie told the mink. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

The mink sobbed some more. "We've looked all over and tried every lead. Nobody even saw her leave the glen. It's like she just disappeared."

Ellie felt for the female mink. She'd couldn't imagine what would happen if she lost Peaches. Then Ellie said the phrase, "Is there anything we can do?"

The two opossums groaned. There it is. And she said "we".

The mink stopped sobbing a little. "You want to help?"

"Sure," Ellie said in a bright voice. "If we can."

The female mink wrung her paws. "I'm not sure what else can be done. If you can, just look around for her. She has reddish brown fur, blue eyes and her name is Tundra."

Ellie smiled. "We'll be happy to look for her. Don't worry; when we find her we'll bring her back to you." With that, the mammoth said her good-byes and guided her daughter out of the glen.

Crash and Eddie jumped onto her tusks.

"Are you crazy?" Crash yelled at her. "Why did you say that?"

"Her daughter is missing," Ellie told them. "Have a little compassion."

"Those snobs wouldn't have given us a second look any other day," Eddie said. "Why should we help them?"

"Because, we're good people. And that's what we do," Ellie said, and her expression softened. "We're better than that, right guys? And besides, what else do you have planned?"

The two thought it over, and shrugged. She was right.

"Hey, wait. Wait a minute," a voice called out.

Ellie stopped and looked back. She didn't see anything.

"Hey, down here," the voice called out again.

It took the mammoth a while to distinguish the white mink against the snow.

"Hey, I heard what you said to my aunt," the white mink said as she caught her breath. "I thought that I might save you some time."

The group waited for the mink to climb up to Ellie's tusks, which she was hesitant about, and introduced herself as Frost, Tundra's cousin.

"It'd be a waste looking for Tundra," Frost explained and looked down Ellie's trunk with unease. "She'll be long gone by now."

"Do you know where she went?" Ellie asked.

Frost shook her head and put on a cool face. "Tundra ran away during the rehearsal. She didn't want to get married, and took off when no one was lookin'," she explained.

"But why? What kind of girl would run away from her wedding?" Ellie asked.

Frost rolled her eyes. "It was an arranged marriage. The guy was a complete jerk," she told them. "If she didn't run away, she'd just get bullied into it by her mom."

Ellie looked back on the glen of minks with an odd look.

"That's our family," Frost said with disgust. "It's good for her to get away from all the craziness."

"Then we're going back, and you're going to tell Tundra's mom where she went," Ellie said with determination, and turned around.

"Hold up, I'm not going to do that," Frost said with an equally determined look. "For one, I don't know where she went exactly. I only know she went. And two, I'm going to deny it. If that family knew she ran off, they're just going to track her down and fetch her back. And then Tundra will be back where she started." Frost dropped her tough girl look. "Listen, okay. I'm probably the only one who is looking out for her own interests. If you go back and tell them all that, then you'll take everything away that I did for her."

Ellie could tell that Frost loved her cousin very much, and what she said was true. "But what about the rest of her family. Her mother is worried about her. I can't let her continue to worry like that," Ellie protested. "What can I do?"

Frost shook her head. "I don't know."

Ellie shut her eyes for a while as she thought. Then she came up with an idea. "I know. We'll track her down and find out she's okay. And then we'll erase her tracks and go back to her mother and explain everything. Does that sound okay to you?"

Frost thought everything through in her own mind. It sounded like more work than she wanted to go through. But then she'd have to argue against a mammoth, which isn't a smart thing to do. After thinking it over, she decided. "Sounds good to me," the white mink decided. "Let's get going."

Ellie smiled. "Alright. Then let's go."

"She ran off in this direction," Frost said once they were away from the glen. "I'm not entirely sure because I was trying to distract the whole family."

"How'd you do that?" Ellie asked as she walked across the snow.

"I started a fight," Frost said with an innocent smile.

The two opossums, who had lounged back during Frost and Ellie's conversation, now perked up a bit. That didn't sound like something a mink would do.

"It wasn't that hard. You just know how to press the buttons," Frost said remembering back. "It's too bad about Uncle Ted."

"Was that whole group your family?" Ellie asked.

"Well, part of it was. Some was Tundra's father's side. But a large part of them were off looking for Tundra," Frost explained.

"That's a lot of minks," Ellie commented.

"Unfortunately," Frost muttered. When she received a strange look from Ellie, she shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I love being a mink and I love my family. But they're pushy, stubborn and pretentious."

"It didn't seem that way to me," Ellie said, trying to say something nice.

"Oh, just come to one of our family reunions. You'll find enough drama to last a lifetime. I would leave them all behind and find someplace new if it wasn't for Tundra," Frost went on.

Ellie was about to ask more about the other mink, when Frost jumped down.

"Here's her tracks," Frost said, looking in the snow. She sniffed the snow. "Yeah, that's definitely her scent. Come on, this way. I wouldn't be surprised if we catch up to her. She's such a whimp."

The group followed Frost along the trail. It didn't take them long before they found the hole in the ice and the trail stopped. Frost's eyes opened wide and she rushed to the hole.

"No! No no no. Nononononononoooooooo," she moaned trying to see any other way for the trail to start somewhere else, to see any sign that her cousin went off in another direction. Then she looked closer to the ice, and saw scratches in the ice and bits of reddish brown fur frozen to the edges. She trembled at the thought and looked down. Perhaps it was just an air bubble in the ice. But when she looked down, all she saw was foggy mist that seemed to go on forever.

It was one of the fears of those who lived on the ice. Her cousin had fallen into a glacier, the depth was obviously too far for her to survive.

"What is it? What have you found?" Ellie asked, rushing to the mink's side. She looked at the hole, and figured out what happened. "Oh, no. I'm sorry."

"NO!" Frost shouted, tears in her eyes. "NO, she can't be gone. No, this is all my fault!" she cried out.

Ellie wrapped her trunk loosely against the mink.

Frost hug Ellie's trunk, not caring that her tough girl attitude was thrown away by this, but buried her face into the musky hair. "Tundra. No. I'm so sorry. It's my fault."

Ellie comforted the mink the best she could, telling Frost that there was no way she could have known that Tundra would have run this way or that she would have fallen into the hole.

"You don't understand," Frost shouted and pushed away from Ellie's trunk. "I was trying to save her. She's been this timid, meek, influential girl all her life. She never once stood up for herself. Not once. And I finally convinced her to take control of her of her life. It is my fault. If I didn't push her into this, if I didn't tell her to go have an adventure, she would still be alive! Now she fell into that glacier, and she's dead! Because of me," Frost screamed, and huddled in a ball as she sobbed.

Ellie could feel emotion bubbling up inside of her. She pulled Peaches closer to her, which was a good thing since the curious little mammoth seemed interested in the hole. Ellie let Frost cry for a while before she spoke up again.

"I'll go back and tell her mother. That's the right thing to do. I won't tell her that you told Tundra to run away," Ellie said.

"No," Frost said as she cleared away her eyes of more tears, her voice still cracking with emotion. "I'll tell them. It should come from me. And I'll tell them all. That's how it should be." Then Frost ran off without waiting for them to follow.

Ellie just watched, feeling sorry for the mink and her burden. After a while, she guided her daughter. "Come on, Peaches. Let's go home to daddy."

At that, the little mammoth was eager to return home to see her father. And Ellie was too deep in her thoughts to realized that it was only the two of them walking away from the hole.

The two opossums had stayed out of the way during the discovery of the hole. They were no good with crying girls, and for once kept quiet. But once the female mink and Ellie was gone, they went to the ice edge for a closer look. They peered down and saw the swirling mist as well. But part of it cleared, and they could see bits of green.

"Could it be?" Crash asked.

"Is it possible?" Eddie inquired.

They looked longer for more mist to clear, and they could see trees and mountains, and on the ground below, they could almost see small creatures moving around. They almost lost their balance as a flock of pterodactyls flew below them at a better height for them to see.

"It is!" both exclaimed, and gave each other a high five.

"Then that means that Buck is down there, somewhere," Crash said with a eager grin.

"We can go see him anytime we want," Eddie said happily. Then he thought about it. "At least, see where he lives from here."

"Don't worry, dude. We'll find a way down," Crash told his brother, and looked around in the hole. "We just have to figure out how."

Eddie's thoughts weren't on getting down, but on something else. "Hey, bro. You don't think that. . .maybe. . .that mink girl. . .that she could have survived and is down there now."

"Anything's possible, I guess," Crash said with a shrug.

Eddie nodded. "Yeah, so it's practically our _duty_ to go down there and check it out," he said with a sly grin.

Crash echoed his grin. "Yeah, you're right dude. Now we totally have to go down there. It's our civic duty."

"Cool."

They bump knuckles and start planning.

* * *

><p>Tundra woke up, and wished she hadn't. Every part of her body hurt. Her eyes felt sandy and her mouth had a pasty, nasty coat all over. Even her insides felt sore or numb. She was able to go back to sleep, but something in her head nagged her, and she remembered her decision from last night. She crawled out from under the leaves and stretched as best she could, moving them enough to warm them up. She wobbled and tottered on her feet as she walked out of the room.<p>

She stopped in her tracks when she met the scowl of the woman of the house.

"Uh. . .good morning. . . Mrs. Buck," Tundra said, her smile awkward. She looked around. "Is Buck around?" she asked. That was the wrong thing to say. She could feel the gaze tighten around her. "I'll just go look outside," Tundra said, and scooted to the exit feeling lighter once out of sight of the pineapple.

She pulled back the leaf door, and was met with whiteness all around. It took her a while to realize it wasn't snow. She put her paw out, and saw the whiteness swirl around her. Mist. It was very thick, and she could barely see beyond a few feet in front of her.

"Buck," she called out softly, not wanting to call attention to anything else in the mist. She sniffed, smelling Buck's sent, but she wasn't much of a tracker. She called the weasel's name a few more times, but didn't get a reply. She thought that she could see him better if she was higher above the mist. It took a while, but she was able to scramble up the side of the hollow log with her stubby nails and sore muscles. She panted a little, but looked around alert and tall.

However, there was no sign of the weasel.

"Buck," she called a little louder this time.

"Yes?" he popped down beside, grinning when she jumped away with a scream. "That's a lovely way to start the mornin'."

"Stop doing that," Tundra hissed, suddenly realizing that he may just be scaring her and telling her frightening stories just to tease her.

"I can't help it if you're all jumpy and spooked, Angel. But don't worry. You'll be outta here soon like I promised. I've thought of a way t' git ya home," he said, and pulled down some vines and started wrapping them in a loop.

Tundra's ears flattened against her head, but she steadied her nerves for what she was about to say to the weasel. "A-about that, Buck. I did some thinking last night, and I've made a decision," she said, feeling her voice getting stronger as she talked. "I've always wanted an adventure, and now that I'm in one, I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave."

"What? You want more? Are you daft?" Buck asked her, looking at her puffy figure up and down. "You must be out of your pelt. Do you think you can survive down here? Do you like being a scared, shivering furball?"

Tundra knew that it would be so easy to change her mind, and just go home. It would be easy, and she knew that if she continued to take the easy road all the time, she would be miserable all her life. "No, I don't think I can survive down here, and no, I don't like being scared. I hate it. I hate being this useless mink, and let my mom bully me around like she did my father. I don't want to be the same any more," she said, her voice becoming very passionate. Then she became meek again. "You've already done so much for me, and I'd hate to ask you for more, but I have to try. I want to become your apprentice. I want to be brave and daring like you, and learn how to survive on my own. Teach me everything you know; teach me how not to be afraid anymore. But if it's too much of a bother, you can just take me home."

Buck looked at her as if she were crazy. Then he slapped her on the back with a laugh. "There's more to you than I thought, mink. You must have some sea mink in ya. A fiery spark, that's one of the things you'll need to survive out here," he told her.

Tundra's ears perked up. Did this mean. . .?

"Alright, you've convinced me, Angel. You're in Buck's Boot Camp, from now on," he said, feeling a little prideful of what the mink said of him. "And the same rules still stand. You have to listen to everything I say."

Tundra nodded readily, and big smile broke on her face. "What do I do first?" she asked, feeling like this was the first step for her to change for the better.

"The first step?" Buck said and snapped into the roll of a general. "The first step is for you to rest up. You're not going out there in that kind of shape. Especially since this is Rudy's kind of day."

Tundra looked around at the mist, as if whatever this Rudy was would appear out of nowhere.

"No, we'll start tomorrow. Get those puny mink muscles working and get you toughened up," Buck said, pointing at the mink with his knife. "Then maybe we'll talk about going against Rudy."

At this point, Tundra decided she'd have to get used to Buck's tough talk some time. So she just saluted, and said in a smart tone, "Yes, sir."

There was a thunderous roar that rattled the trees, even if they couldn't be seen through the mist. Tundra cowered despite her short time of bravery, but looked up at Buck for direction only seeing a glint in his eye that was the closest thing to joy she's seen.

"Get back inside, Angel-girl," Buck told her, jumping out into the mist. "An' tell my wife I'll be back tonight."

Tundra didn't waste time obeying, not wanting to meet whatever could roar like that.

Buck rushed through the mist, careful since his sight was hindered. He scrambled around in the brush, knowing that Rudy could be very close but the white mist could easily hide the large, albino dinosaur. But that only made things even more interesting.

* * *

><p>It was awkward going back into that hollow log, finding the pineapple in the kitchen. It was hard not to stare at her ugliness.<p>

"Um. . .Buck said that he'd be back tonight," Tundra told his wife, feeling the fruit's glare intensify. "I don't know where he went, but he said something about Rudy."

The pineapple tipped off the chair, and landed with a heavy thump.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Tundra asked with concern. "Here, let me help you up." Tundra rushed over to the pineapple, and picked her up. "It's alright. I'll help you to your bed. I'm sure he'll be alright, ma'm."

Tundra tucked the faint pineapple into the bed, seeing that she was comfortable before leaving. She suddenly felt sorry for Buck's wife, seeing how nervous she could be wondering where that weasel was running off to next, or whether or not he would come back alive. It must be wearing on the fruit.

At that point, the mink realized she didn't have anything to do. Her body told her to go back to her own bed and rest, but her mind told her not to. Her muscles needed to stretch and be worked slowly, and if she laid back down they might stiffen up again. So she carefully walked around the small home until she decided to do some cleaning. She brightened up at the thought that perhaps helping around the house would improve the pineapple's opinion of her.

After grabbing a quick breakfast, she found the supply of water and used an egg shell and some moss to clean everything up. After that, she used grass tied to a stick to sweep out the dirt and clear away the cobwebs, and then used some damp moss to scrub the wood. Her muscles ached at first, but after a while they loosened up. She worked all day long at a job which should only have taken a few hours. When she had finished, she was ready to rest. She dragged herself back into the bed and fell asleep.

It was after nightfall when the weasel returned, his face gleaming from danger and near-death,. He calmly stepped into his house. "Honey, I'm home. Where are you?" he called, his usual greeting. He searched the house, and finally found her. "What are you still doing in bed? Don't tell me you're still mad at me," he asked her, taking her back into the kitchen. "Whoa, look at this place. You've done a lot of cleaning. It looks very nice, honey. Yes, dear, I did get the peppers you wanted. The ones that only grow at the top of waterfalls, yes. Where's the mink?" he asked, looking around, and then set his wife aside before peeking into the guest room. "Have you been sleeping all day? Up an' attem, Angel-girl."

Tundra sat up in a daze, seeing mainly darkness and the outline of Buck. "Muh?" she asked, and crawled out of bed. She teetered her way to the doorway. "I'm up," she said with a swollen tongue.

"You look awful," Buck said, wondering if it was the same mink he'd left behind that boldly proclaimed she wanted to learn survival skills from him. Her fur seemed to sag where she stood. "You may not be ready for the training yet."

"No, I'm ready," Tundra insisted, rubbing her eyes. "I'm ready. Let's go."

"Easy. It's still night time," he told her, impressed by her eagerness.

"Oh good. I'm going back to bed," Tundra moaned, and turned around.

"Ah ah, not yet. You need to eat. . .though you could probably loose a few," Buck whispered the last bit.

In her half-asleep condition, Tundra wasn't thinking straight. She felt anger rise and punched Buck in the arm. "Are you callin' me fat?" she shouted, her anger rising. Even though most minks are proud of their extra insulation, it was a low insult to call one fat. They may be "plump" "voluptuous" or even a bit "chunky" but never fat. It never occurred to her in her tired form that he had never actually said the word fat.

"Easy, Angel-girl," Buck retreated, not expecting the mink to attack. "Sorry."

Tundra did, still looking irked. Then she realized she just slugged the most dangerous animal she'd ever known, at least on a personal level. She surprised herself, but didn't apologize.

Buck started putting food on the table. "You need you're strength. I'm not going easy on you, tomorrow. I need you wide awake and ready," Buck warned her. "Be prepared for anything. That's rule number one."

"I thought rule number one was listen to you?" Tundra asked confused.

"That's the other rule number one," Buck said knowingly.

Tundra smiled and shook her head. She leaned down to the pineapple and asked, "Is he always like this?" she asked Buck's wife.

The pineapple looked as if she could roll her eyes if she had any.

"Boy, today I feel good," Buck said with a stretch, stabbing a potato before starting to eat it. "And to top it off, I come home to a clean home. It looks great, sweetheart."

Tundra smiled to herself as she heard Buck's compliment, but started choking on some berries she was eating at the end of it.

"Slow down there, mink. Chew your food," Buck said, not looking at her.

Tundra looked at the pineapple, but she wouldn't met her eyes. _That fruit. She's taking credit for the work I did_. But Tundra decided not to say anything. The couple's relationship seemed taunt when she had come in, but this seemed to smooth things over. She decided to let it pass.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long into the next day when Tundra found herself high in the trees after Buck had carried her up. He told her soon she'd have to start doing that herself, but until her claws grew back, she'd have to hitch a ride.<p>

"Alright, first lesson," Buck said, and grab a long vine. "This is the fastest method of getting' around, although I think you may be very close. But it's not a good idea to use up all your energy runnin'." The weasel handed Tundra the vine.

Tundra took it with a look that said, "And what do you want me to do with this?"

"Well, go on then," Buck told her, pointing to his knife off the tree branch.

Tundra took a step back, and looked down. "You want me just to jump?"

"Just like that," Buck told her, and gestured to get at it.

"But it's so high," Tundra complained, feeling her bottom lip start to tremble.

"That's the whole point, Angel," Buck told her. "It's sink or swim."

Tundra remembered that the weasel said he wasn't going easy on her, and now she believed it was true. Or maybe it wasn't true, and this was easy. _Well, I wanted to become stronger, and I guess I will or die._ She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and jumped off with the vine tightly clenched in her paws. She screamed.

It took her a while to realize she hadn't moved very far. When she opened her eyes, she saw she was stuck at an angle, part of the vine still in Buck's paw. She frowned at him.

"Now you're just being mean," Tundra mutter darkly at him.

"Yes, but it's all part of the training," Buck told her. "It'll toughen you up." Then he jumped off the branch as well, swinging along with Tundra.

Tundra kept her mouth shut this time, letting herself concentrate on swinging. The vine made it through one arch and then she started moving backward. The length of the vine from where she was to the tree wasn't very far, so the arch wasn't very big.

"Okay, now move your body with the vine for momentum," Buck said, relaxing his position. He wasn't going to help her.

It took Tundra a while to figure out what Buck was talking about, but as she felt the vine's swinging slowing down, she started trying to keep it going.

"Hurry up, or we'll stop and you'll fail," Buck told her.

"Shut up, I've never done this before," Tundra told him, trying to concentrate. "And you're not helping."

"Course I'm not. How else are you going to learn?" Buck said.

Tundra frowned, and tried to remember how the weasel had done it two days ago. She started swinging with her legs with the vine, and gained momentum.

"That's it, Angel-girl. That's the way," Buck complimented.

_Said the deadweight_, Tundra thought sarcastically, but bit her tongue remembering that's what she is to him as well. She redoubled her effort then, using all her muscles in her body to move with the swinging.

"You've got the knack of it now," Buck said, and slid down the vine. "Now let's make it more difficult."

"How? You going to add more weasels?" Tundra muttered to herself quietly.

"Slid down. The further down, the harder it's going to be," Buck ordered, moving further down.

Instead of saying the dozen sarcastic comments that would come to her mind, Tundra did as she was told and slid down. Just as the weasel said, it was harder the further down she slid. And along with swinging harder, she also had to keep with the rhythm as she slid down. After minutes of the exercise, the mink felt like she had accomplished something.

"Now for the next step," the weasel said, and as they finished one arch, he grabbed another vine and swung away from Tundra, who just looked at him with wide eyes as she moved away. "Come on, hop on," he told her.

Even though they had slid closer to the ground, it was still quite a fall.

"Hurry up," Buck told her. "Or are you just going to keep going back an' forth like a toy on a string."

Tundra swung harder, to get closer to Buck. Once the two vines were close enough, she reached out, and missed them. She waited for the vines to swing back together, and was able to grab onto Buck's vine. And both of them stopped swinging.

"You have to let go of th' other one, Angel," Buck said with a chuckle.

Tundra looked at the first vine, almost afraid to let go of it, but then did and swung away with Buck.

Buck didn't waste any more time, but jumped off that vine onto another one, this one further away.

"Come an' get me, Angel-girl," he called out in a taunt.

Tundra sighed, and pushed and pulled with the vine to swing as hard as she could. It took her longer, but she was able to match swings with Buck and grab on, the transition smoother this time.

They continued this over and over, each time Buck choosing vines further and further away, until they were so far apart that Tundra couldn't reach.

"You're gonna have tah jump, Angel," Buck called out to her.

The thought of jumping through the air and trying to catch the vine made Tundra cringe, and she held onto her vine tightly. "I can't," she called, her voice pleading for help.

"Oh well, that was a good try," Buck told her. "I guess it's time for you to go home."

At that, Tundra gritted her teeth, swung hard on the vine, and jumped. For a moment she could feel the plant-life on the tip of her paw, but then she lost it. She flew quicker than the vine could, falling toward the ground. Lucky for her, she hit a tree before the ground, and slid to the valley floor in pain.

Tundra stared up into the sky as it spun around, feeling sore all over and dizzy. After a moment, Buck's face came into view spinning as well.

"That was a good try, Angel," he told her with a smile. "Rest for a while, and then we'll try again."

Tundra moaned.

* * *

><p>"It's time for lesson number two," Buck said, strolling along on the earth.<p>

"Can I take the blind fold off?" Tundra asked nervously, keeping her paws locked on the weasel's tale as he guided her to who knew where.

"Not yet. It's a surprise," Buck said happily.

"I hate you," Tundra muttered, feeling a nervous tick rising up inside of her.

Buck took this all in stride, finding out the more he teased her, the angrier she was; also the angrier she was, the bolder she would become. And when the mink became bold, sarcasm came into the equation. In his teaching, he kept that in mind, often taunting her until she dared to continue. As he walked, he grabbed a few branches of leaves, heavy and bulky for his small form.

"What was that?" Tundra asked wearily, hearing the branches moving.

"It's fine, Angel. No need to worry," Buck told her as he walked to the edge of the cliff.

Tundra wanted to protest, but last time she did, the weasel made her repeat rule number one (the first rule number one). She sighed, and followed blindly. She stopped short when Buck stopped. Her blind fold was whipped away from her face. She squinted as her eyes had been too used to the darkness, and rubbed them. When she was able to see correctly, she jumped back from the edge of a long drop, still fearful of heights from her first day in the valley.

"Knock it off," Buck told her, irked. "We aren't even to the worse part yet."

"What's the worse. . ."

Buck whistled loudly. Two giant heads on long necks straightened up, rising about twenty feet above the two small mammals.

Tundra shrunk back into a ball with her wide eyes on the two dinosaurs, her stumpy claws digging into the ground. She kept a few phrases in her mind. Listen to Buck. Don't panic. And as long as Buck wasn't running, she wouldn't either.

"Come on. Come on, boy," Buck shouted, waving the leafy branches.

At the sight of moving food, one of long-necked dinosaurs lowered its head to eat. The weasel moved the food further away, so it moved closer.

The weasel looked down at his companion. "Have a little sense, Angel. They're eating plants. They aren't goin' to hurt you," Buck told her.

Tundra looked up at them. They were the biggest things she'd ever seen, and she could only see part of them. But they calmly ate the leaves, moving slowly and lazily. She stood up more to watch.

"Hurry up now. They're not going to stay long," Buck told her, and had to give them more leafy branches. When the mink didn't move any more, he grabbed her paw and pulled her closer, forcing her to touch the giant head.

Tundra could feel her heart beat under her paw as she touched the dinosaur, remembering the way the pterodactyl felt. They felt like the same scaly reptile, but there was something different. There was something calming about this giant beast. Tundra decided to be bolder, and put both paws on the dinosaur, petting it. She then put her face to it, listening to the beast chew its food and feeling its warmth. She smiled to herself. If she had to look a week back on herself, nothing could have convinced her that she could be touching, hearing, smelling a dinosaur.

"This is amazing," Tundra said, closing her eyes and leaning against the dinosaur.

The dinosaur seemed to realize that she was taking about it, and made a deep crooning noise, but continued to eat.

"You haven't see nothin' yet, Angel," Buck told her and threw the remaining branches further back, making the dinosaur move its head more over the cliff. He then jumped onto the dinosaur's nose. "Well, our ride's here," Buck told Tundra, and waved for her to jump on.

Tundra looked hesitant, feeling her head beginning to shake in a "no".

"Hurry up, he's not going to wait here all day," Buck told her with a shrug. "He'll leave you behind."

The thought of being left alone obviously was a worse option than climbing onto the tall dinosaur. Tundra could see the herbivore had finished his snack and starting to move away. In a flash, she ran and jumped, catching Buck's outstretched paw before she fell down the cliff. She felt the weasel pull on her so she'd land on the dinosaur's nose. She steadied herself on Buck as the dinosaur moved its head higher.

The mink was completely frozen as she held onto the weasel and watched the scenery move in an amazing sight. She could see almost the entire valley, the view almost as good as the one she saw falling from the ice sky.

It took her a while for her to realize she was pressed up against Buck. She moved away quickly, feeling her cheeks start to feel warm, berating herself for having such feelings.

"This is the best part," Buck told her, moving further down the dinosaur's nose.

The creature didn't seem to mind the two mammals on its snout, it seemed to be more occupied by moving to another grazing area.

Tundra leaned against the dinosaur's nose bridge wishing she had something to hold on to. But she had to admit the sight was beautiful. She was so used to the ice world above, that she thought she could never get used to all these colors. And even if she did, she'd never get her fill. And the scenery wasn't the only thing she was staring at.

Buck stood at the edge of the dinosaur's nose, almost leaning over into the wind. He starred over the land, content smile splitting his face and knife in paw ready for anything. His spotted fur ruffled as the air pushed and pulled through it, and the sun shone against his coat.

Tundra tried to imagine him in her own world surrounded by ice, or even in her home talking with her family. He just didn't fit. It was like he was made for this dangerous, uncouth world or the other way around. He looked so dashing and heroic where he stood, and as she watched him, Tundra wasn't afraid.

But she pulled her eyes away from him, hoping he wouldn't notice that she starred at him, and started looking down at the scenery.

"So, how do we get down?" she asked after a while.

"Oh, that's the best part," Buck told her with a wild grin, dashing toward her. He pulled her up the bridge of the dinosaur's nose onto the head. "Now, keep arms and legs in the ride at all time. Don't stand up, bounce or spin during the ride, or you'll most likely fall off and die," Buck said jovially.

"Die? What ride?" Tundra said, her nerves on edge.

"This one," the weasel said, and pushed her.

As Tundra slid down the dinosaur's neck, screaming all the way, she realized that from that point on, she'd have to keep her guard up around that weasel at all times. She just wouldn't last long from surprises like these.

Buck watched her slide, quite confident that she'd be fine. She was a survivalist, he could tell. However, he also caught sight of her anger every now and then, and knew one day he'd have to pay for it. But that might actually be fun. With a whoop of laughter, Buck jumped down to slide on his feet, following after the mink.

Tundra kept her back straight as she slid, keeping her balance so she'd stay on the dinosaur's spine. The neck leveled out to the dinosaur's back, and she slowed down. _This isn't so bad,_ she thought to herself. But where did she hear that line before. She immediately waited for something bad to happen, and wasn't disappointed. She started to pick up speed once she slide down the tail. Not only that, but the tail was getting thinner and would eventually end. Then what?

She screamed as she felt her free fall through the air, the dinosaur's tail had curled upward and she'd slide up and away much like a skier on a jump. As she soared through the air, her arms wheeled around as if she were trying to find balance, but she had no control over her direction. However, at the last minute of her descent, she, almost instinctively, caught onto a vine. She had been going so fast through the air, that she swung on the vine so hard she shot up higher up than the vine. The trip back down was jerky and she almost couldn't hold on with her arms and paws sore from Buck's training, but she did. Her fur was standing on end all over her body, and her tail and legs wrapped as tightly around it as possible. Even after the swinging was slow, the mink didn't move from her tight grip.

"That was great, Angel-girl, though you need to work on that landing," Buck told her and casually swung by.

Tundra slowly slid to the bottom of the vine like a slug and dropped to the ground with very little energy, her heart still pounding.

* * *

><p>For the next week, Buck taught Tundra the skills she'd need to survive in the world of the dinosaurs, drilling her in exercises and basically testing her with surprises. Each day, Tundra's life was filled with many new experiences that left her shaky and weak, often giving her little appetite while feeling hungry on the new diet. She started losing weight. At the end of the day, she would be dragging herself to bed just to collapse in the pile of leaves with a sore body, only to wake up stiff and achy all over. And then it would begin all over again.<p>

But she continued on because every day she experienced something good. She could feel something growing inside of her, like a small fire being fed more and more. She liked this feeling, and wanted to pursue it to the end. That's what made her get up every morning.

Her relationship with Buck also grew, although Buck's attitude toward her didn't seem to change, yet each minute she spent with him she grew more and more comfortable. She also grew more and more weary of him, trying to predict him even though he was completely unpredictable. It became a sort of game for her, to try and see if she could step aside the next time he pushed her into another test. However, he seemed to know just exactly when her guard was down and jump on the opportunity.

But that wasn't the only game they played. One game Buck came up with and tried it out as often as possible. He continued to introduce her to more and more of the wildlife, only the herbivores. However, most of them can become very aggressive or just curious, which can be dangerous for a small mink and weasel. Buck would stand his ground and run away at the last possible moment before large feet trample over him. The first time he tried this with Tundra, the mink was off like a flash, a blur of reddish brown fur. They'd do it again, Tundra forcing herself to stay longer and longer each time, but it wasn't even close to how long Buck would stay. But he'd only tease her, and be off on the next lesson.

Tundra often worried that Buck would be board with training her and that he thought her progress was too slow. But he never failed to wake her up and put on his wild grin as they headed out the door. Tundra often had thoughts of quitting, but never voiced them. She'd rather suffer in silence.

Even though it was hard work, Tundra was glad every time she left the hollow log. No matter how polite she was or what kind gesture she made toward Buck's wife, the pineapple seemed to be stubbornly against the mink. Buck was oblivious to this, so Tundra didn't mention it. She didn't want the two fighting over something else, which they seemed to do almost daily.

But part of the mink didn't blame Buck's wife, for she was a mink. Many times she'd sat around her old burrow and listened to her mother, aunts, cousins and any other females that had come to visit tell the stories of the minks. Most of them were romances, tales of saucy, sassy and beautiful minks seducing male minks or any other species of male only to break their hearts. It was a stereotype that fit the species. She knew it was true. She'd seen the martins that have starred at her and her cousins, whistling and cat calling. It didn't take any amount of imagination of what the housewife thought when her husband brought a mink home.

Tundra felt bad for the pineapple, but she couldn't help what she was born as. She tried everything to make herself as good of a guest as possible, but nothing seemed to appease the pineapple. It was just a relief to her to leave behind the heated stare in the morning.

One morning, Tundra woke for the first time on her own, and with a start. She had woken from a bad dream, and opened her eyes nervously. Feeling tired almost immediately, she kicked the leaves away from her heated body and tried to go back to sleep. However, a puff of fur landed on her face, making her sneeze. She then looked down and screamed.

Buck, who had just started to wake up as well, had rushed into Tundra's room to see what was the matter, his knife in paw. "What is it?" he shouted, seeing no danger.

Tundra had always tried to act tough whenever she was around Buck, at least as tough as she could. She made it a point not to cry in front of him, saving that for whenever she was alone in bed. But this time, she couldn't help it, and afterward she felt ridiculous for crying at such a stupid moment. The mink held up a large ball of fur that she'd gathered, more of it on her bed.

"I'm going bald," she sobbed, and pulled more loose fur from her body.

Buck starred at her with a look of disbelief. "For cryin' out loud, Angel. You're just shedding," Buck half-yelled at her once he'd recovered from being stunned.

"Shedding?" Tundra repeated, rubbing her eyes with a sniff.

"Of course. It's too warm down here for your winter coat, Angel-girl," Buck told her, his voice strained. His ears perked up, and he called out of the door. "No, sweetheart. Everything's alright. The mink just had a scare. What? No, it's not a spider. She's just emotionally imbalanced."

Tundra jumped on that. "I'm not emotionally imbalanced," she rounded on the weasel, getting upset.

"Alright, mood swings. Whatever you want to call it," Buck said, holding his paws up in surrender.

Tundra looked for something to throw at Buck, but there wasn't much of anything that could hurt him, nothing but leaves and her own fur. Just as she was watching him go, she jumped at him and tackled him. The two fell with groans and thuds, Buck getting the worst of the fall with Tundra landing on him. Tundra felt suddenly embarrassed that she's done something so bold, but tried not to show it. Instead she stood up, using Buck as a lift to help herself up and casually walked over him. This could be payback for what he's done to her the entire week. After taking a few steps, she looked back at the weasel.

Buck was still on the ground, just about as surprised as she was that she had tackled him.

"Well, are you going to lay there all day, or are we going to go train?" Tundra asked him expectantly and stomped out of the home.

Buck watched Tundra leave and then shook his head with a chuckle. "Females," he muttered to himself.

* * *

><p>After their daily activities of exercising survival skills, playing chicken with random dinosaurs and the occasional surprise from Buck (today's surprises were particularly trying on Tundra's heart and she was sure that this was double payback from that morning), they rested by one of the valley's rivers. Tundra was soaking whatever body part was hurting particularly well today, and trying to pull out as much loose fur as she could. She wondered why she hadn't been sweating with a winter coat on all this time, but then remembered she'd been sweating from being nervous all the time. She probably didn't notice when she got hot.<p>

Buck was sitting around calmly. It was strange for Tundra to see him so inactive, but she knew that he could be back in action in a second. And it wasn't like Buck to not be doing something at all times. There were a few days when he was fine giving Tundra an hour's rest from her training, and just sit there watching the scenery, carving something out of wood or even just listening to the sounds of the jungle. And if she really wanted a long break, she'd ask Buck a question about one of his wild adventures, which he seemed content to tell it in all the gory details and excitedly acting all the way.

However, today, Tundra had made another decision. She noticed she was doing that quite a lot recently, and like it. She liked that she was taking some sort of action in her own fate.

"Hey, Buck?" she called, feeling not all confident about her decision.

"What is it" Buck asked, not looking at her from his rest.

"I've been thinking a lot recently about me being here. I mean, in your home," Tundra began, twisting her paws together. "It's not that you and your wife haven't made me welcomed, I really appreciate that you've taken me in. But I think it's time that I live somewhere else. I'm sure that I could find some place else so that I'm not a bother."

Buck looked at her in surprise, and Tundra thought that he was going to berate her for saying she's a bother (he always would snap at her for doing that) or that she was daft for wanting to go on her own. But her just grinned. "Wow, aren't you a regular go-getter," Buck said jovially. "That's actually lesson six, and you want to jump that far in advance. You've only been down here a week. I gotta say, Angel-girl, I'm impressed that you came up with the idea on your own."

Tundra's ears perked up at that. A compliment from Buck wasn't something to snuff your nose at. And then she thought about what he said. A week! Only a week! It seemed so much longer than that.

"I know the best place for you, Angel," Buck said, standing up and stretching. "It's me ol' bachelor's pad. Had it before I found the misses. Well, come on then." And he led the way.

Even after a week, Tundra was still bad at directions in the jungle. Everything looked too much alike. Every once in a while, something looked familiar, but it would have to be something large and distinguished. She wondered if she'd ever get to the point where she could walk around without getting lost. As far as she could tell, Buck's "bachelor pad" wasn't too far from where he lived now.

"Jump on, then," Buck told Tundra, pointing to his back. He was standing beside the largest tree Tundra had ever seen. "We're goin' up."

Tundra looked up, and could see branches twisting and turning in and out of each other in a knot of wood. Even the trunk looked like it was dozens of trees growing together. She grabbed onto Buck's shoulders and held on, a now familiar position with how much she had to be lugged around in the past week.

It took Buck longer than usual, climbing higher than any other tree he took her up in. When he finally stopped and let her off, the mink was surprised by how thick the branches were, even up this high. She was able to walk around without feeling any type of vertigo.

"Well, here it is. Home, if you want to call it that," Buck said with a wink.

Branches had been tied together with vines for protection from weather, sun and predators. It had a few dead leaves and some moss growing in a few corners, but it wasn't really shabby. And in the most protected corner of the place was a hammock weaved from live vines hanging from the tree, leaves still growing on them.

"It's really neat," Tundra said, feeling some of her worries starting to fall away from her. "Thank you again," she said happily and grabbed his paw in appreciation.

"It's no problem, Angel. It seems you belong up here," Buck told her with a crooked smile.

Tundra laughed softly and then danced away. "Just a little angel trying to get back to the stars," Tundra said, playing the same word game. Then she stopped and starred up at the sky. It had gotten dark since they had climb up the tree. She was silent and still, her face turning a little sad. "I miss the stars," she said softly, looking up at the dark sky, the ice blocking everything in the heavens above it.

Buck nodded and remembered. "I remember stars. It's been a long time since I've seen them. I can still remember using them to navigate."

Tundra's ears perked up. "How can you do that? I thought that they were always changing. The summer sky looks so different than the winter one."

Buck perked up. "That's true, but some stars never move. The ones that direct to the North," he explained.

Tundra thought about this, wondering why she didn't notice that, but didn't let it bother her. She believed Buck, and at this point he could have told her anything short of utter nonsense, and she'd believe him entirely. She felt stupid, but every day she was learning something new and was slowly feeling accomplished.

"The first thing I'm going to do . . .when I go back is look up at the stars," Tundra said, hesitating a little with her sentence. "However, that might not be for a long time." Something inside her felt happy that that day wouldn't be soon.

"It might be sooner than you think, Angel-girl," Buck told her. "That's if you'd stop screaming at every little thing."

"Okay, that bush came out of nowhere. You saw it attack me," Tundra defended herself non-too-well, having a hard time hiding her smile.

"Yes, it was a very vicious plant," Buck said sarcastically, and pushed her lightly with his body.

It took Tundra a few minutes of teasing and playing around to realize that she was feeding her feelings, feelings that she was trying to convince herself she didn't have and squash them. _I can't do this. I can't be flirting with a married man_, she thought to herself in a panic. She put some distance between her and the weasel.

"It's getting late. You should go home now. You're wife is probably waiting for you," Tundra said, trying to keep her voice light.

Buck looked around as if he didn't notice that it had gotten dark. "Oh, you're right. Better hurry. It's not safe to go anywhere after dark."

"Rule number five," Tundra said, repeating one of Buck's rules.

"Right, Angel, unless you're Buck," the weasel said with a wild laugh. "See ya in the mornin'." In a flash, he had jumped down from Tundra's new home, jumping from one branch to another, crossing onto other trees and onward.

"Bye," Tundra called, waving her paw. "Be safe," she said a bit more quieter. Even though she knew Buck was the toughest animal she'd ever met, she worried over him. He was so laid back and carefree, even in the face of danger. She wondered if he was too carefree sometimes, his sense of self-preservation too dull to realize when he could be in over his head. It was a possibility, and one that made Tundra hope that she was wrong.

Now alone, Tundra started to regret her decision. It had become that first night she spent in the jungle, terrified of everything around her and not knowing if she'd survive through the night. She wished that Buck would have stayed longer, but shook her head. She'd have to have done this sooner or later, and she'd rather do it on her terms. The mink gathered some large leaves from the tree, and used them to cover herself as she curled up where the branch and trunk met. She didn't even look at the hammock, but stayed where she was like a scared child in bed with the covers over the heads. Half of her was convinced that if she didn't see any danger, no danger could see her. Camouflage wasn't a mink's best suit, but she could improvise quite well. Even with this extra precaution, Tundra jumped at any strange sound throughout the night, sleeping very little. The only thing that could lull her to sleep was thinking of the bravado of the weasel in her life.

End of chapter Two

* * *

><p>Author: Now to entertain you and give you a preview of next chapter is Eddie and Crash.<p>

Eddie: Yay, we got a bigger part in the chapter. Hi mom!

Crash: Dude, like mom would ever read fanfiction.

Eddie: Oh yeah.

Crash: Hey everybody. It's your two fav oppossums telling you about what to expect next time on this Ice Age romantic comedy.

Eddie: Tundra continues going through training, but has some problems. She has doubts about herself, and her feelings for Buck.

Crash: Will Tundra get killed by Buck's hard training? Will Tundra get so mad that she kills Buck?

Eddie: Will Rudy finally catch Buck? Will Buck's wife finally get the plastic surgery she's always wanted?

Crash: Will we get a bigger part

Eddie: This questions and more will probably won't be answered next chapter.

Crash: And don't forget to review guys. If you do, the Author will write us some girlfriends.

Author: Hey, no I didn't. Quit lying to your fans.

Eddie: Come on, please!

Crash: Yeah, we'll be good.

Author: No. Now leave. You're done for today. Don't make me call Ellie.


	3. Chapter 3: More Than Useless

(Author's note: Hey everyone! I'd like to thank everyone who's read my fanfic so far. It really makes me happy to hear from anyone. The comment that I've been surprised with the most was that a few people said that my chapters are long. In reply, yes, they are quite long, especially compared to other Ice Age fanfics. I hope that's a good thing, because I ain't makin' them any shorter. Well, shorter than this one. This is a small chapter. But thanks everyone. See you in chapter 4)

Love Makes You Crazy.

Chapter Three: More Than Useless

By Hatashi Kitty

I feel like, I would like  
>To be somewhere else doing something that matters<br>And I'll admit here, while I sit here  
>My mind wastes away and my doubts start to gather<p>

Whats the purpose? It feels worthless  
>So unwanted like I've lost all my value<br>I can't find it, not in the least bit  
>and I'm just scared, so scared that I'll fail you<p>

And sometimes I think that I'm not any good at all  
>And sometimes I wonder why, why I'm even here at all<br>But then you assure me

I'm a little more than useless  
>And when I think that I can't do this<br>You promise me that I'll get through this  
>And do something right<br>Do something right for once

So I say if I can't, do something significant  
>I'll opt to leave most opportunities wasted<br>And nothing trivial, that life could give me will  
>Measure up to what might have replaced it<p>

Too late look, my date book  
>Is packed full of days that were empty and now gone<br>And I bet, that regret  
>Will prove to get me to improve in the long run<p>

I notice, I know this  
>Week is a symbol of how I use my time<br>Resent it, I spent it  
>Convincing myself the world's doing just fine<br>Without me  
>Doing anything of any consequence<br>Without me  
>Showing any sign of ever making sense<br>Of my time , it's my life  
>And my right, to use it like I shouldLike he would, for the good<br>Of everything that I would ever know

I'm a little more than useless  
>When I think that I can't do this<br>You promise me that I'll get through this  
>And do something right<br>Do something right for once

By Reliant K

Buck woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day, much like how he felt every day. Each morning only held multiple possibilities of excitement in his life, new things to see and experience, and it was up to him to conquer whatever it was out there that lay before him.

"Mornin', luv," he said as he walked into the kitchen for breakfast, kissing the pineapple as he came in. He looked around, waiting for another voice to chime in, moan or just make a noise. There was nothing. He was about to say something, but then he realized that his pupil no longer slept in the guest room. The night before she'd move to his old home, insisting that she should live by herself.

He was proud at her growth; she was progressing very nicely despite her timid nature, but something inside him was a little irked. He didn't know why, he just thought that maybe she shouldn't have gone. Did he not think she was ready? No, that wasn't it. But why would her absence made him not as happy as he was before? He shook his head, thinking the feeling was just some remaining disillusions from his dreams, much how when someone has a particularly bad nightmare they can't tell reality from their imagination. It must be the change that caused it. He'll get used to being alone again with his wife soon.

After that, he felt much better and went on with his day. He noticed his wife's mood had improved. Their relationship had been strained for a while, but perhaps his wife's happiness this morning was a sign that it would improve. Buck felt that his life was finally leveling off, becoming what he always wanted it to be.

Isn't this how he wanted it to be?

"Bye, m'love. I'm off t' another day of work," the weasel said a fond farewell, and kissed her rough skin. Then he listened to her. "Papiya? But they're not in season, luv. But. . .I know. . .Okay, I'll see what I can do," he told her, and headed out the door, moving at a cautious run through the jungle to his old bachelor place. The closer he got to the large old tree that he carefully picked months ago the lighter he felt. Today was going to be a great day. He had a few good lessons ready for his student that she was going to love.

It didn't take him long to reach the tree and climb up it. However, when he got up there, he couldn't see the mink anywhere. The sun was barely up, yet could she already be awake and gone down the tree already? Buck didn't think it was likely for the timid female to do such a thing, but where else could she be?

"Angel?" he called out. There was a rustling behind him, and he whipped around with his knife positioned to defend himself.

Tundra peeked out from her bed of leaves with a sleepy eye and saw Buck ready to strike. "Whoa!" she shouted, jumping at the sight causing her leaves to fly everywhere.

She wasn't the only one spooked; the mink's cry cause Buck to jump back startled that a pile of leaves started to move. He was about ready to attack when he saw the reddish fur. "Geez, Angel-girl. You gave me a start," Buck said, relaxing.

"I gave _you_ a start," Tundra said in disbelief, looking nervous at being woken up so abruptly. She moaned and felt a headache starting to come on. This wasn't going to be a good day.

"You don' look so good, Angel," Buck observed looking into her face. The mink's eyes were red, and her fur and ears sagged. Even her whiskers drooped wearily.

"I didn't sleep very well last night," Tundra told him, rubbing her eyes. Then she added, "It's always hard for me to sleep in a new place."

Buck brightened up as he thought of a way to help the mink. "Then I'll work ya extra hard today so you can sleep well tonight."

Tundra grabbed her face with her hand in frustration. But when she thought of complaining, she could imagine Buck saying something about time for her to go home, or something to spur her on. She was sick of being manipulated by the weasel. Half of the time she wanted to strangle him, but the other half of the time she couldn't help but admire him. And admiration was growing into something else.

She pushed those thoughts away again, and got onto her feet. "Okay, I'm ready," she mustered to say energetically. And to prove that she was, she started down the tree without further instruction. However, she was a little imbalanced from her fatigue, and as she jumped from branch to branch, she made a miss-step on a rotting branch. It snapped under her weight, throwing off her balance. She fell.

The mink was barely able to let out a screech when she was grabbed by Buck's powerful grip, and pulled back to safety.

"Looks like we need a new rule. Look before you leap," Buck told her.

"Which number is that?" Tundra asked.

Buck looked thoughtful. "I really don' know. I lost count after eight," he said with a shrug.

Tundra looked down. "Thank you. I should be more grateful. And more careful," she told him.

"Think nothin' of it, Angel. We all make mistakes," Buck told her and waved it off. "Now, let's try this again."

* * *

><p>But that wasn't the last time Tundra made a mistake that week. She was constantly slipping up more and more, sometimes small errors that only ended with a bump on the head or falling into the dirt. But it was becoming increasingly frequent for her to make a great error which caused the weasel to come to her rescue, much to her irritation. Not that she wasn't appreciative of his help, but she was irritated with herself for making such mistakes. Not only that, but Buck sometimes would get the brunt of the fall, hurting himself in the process of helping her.<p>

And Tundra could tell that as the days went on that the weasel was getting irritated with her as well. He'd try to brush it off at first, however it didn't take him long for him to loose his temper with her every now and then. But he never said anything if it had anything to do with his own reckless acts of teasing her, which annoyed Tundra as well. By the end of the sixth day since Tundra had moved out, the two were speaking to each other in short, terse sentences. One particular grueling lesson ended at Tundra's tree, where Buck started to leave her.

"Wait, Buck. How am I going to get up?" Tundra asked, fear coming after seeing his retreating backside.

"You've got four paws, mammal," he told her, waving his front paws at her. "Use them."

"But I've never done this before," Tundra said.

"It's 'bout time you try," Buck shouted at her. "I can't carry ya around forever."

Tundra didn't know what surprised her more, how cold Buck talked to her or that he had dropped the familiar nick-name he usually used. Then she became angry at him, feeling like the victim. She felt bad that she was making mistakes, but that was animal error. She couldn't be perfect. And his continual recklessness and pushing her into dangerous situations she wasn't ready for only made her more nervous, which made her make more mistakes. She'd show him.

"Fine, I will. Who needs you?" she shouted back, picking up a twig and throwing it in the direction the weasel went.

She turned her back on the weasel, and readied herself for the long climb. She looked down at her claws; there had been some growth since she'd come down from the surface, but would it be enough?

It'd have to be. She jumped as high as she could, and grabbed on as best she could. Her claws dug in, and held. But it hurt. She wasn't used to it; her digits were on fire and felt that her bones would pull apart at the joints. She dug into the tree with her back paws, and that helped her even more. After hanging on for a while, she reached up for a higher hold with one front paw and one back paw, then pulled up. She continued to do this, one hold at a time, moving higher and higher. At one point she looked at her progress and almost let go. It was unnerving to see the ground directly under you at such a distance with nothing but your own strength keeping you from falling. She swallowed hard before continuing on. At the first branch, she crawled onto it for rest, massaging her tired sore paws, seeing some of her claws cracking and chipped. She rested for a while before continuing on.

She continued doing this, reaching one branch after another to rest before trying again. She had only made it up halfway when one of her claws caught on the bark, and she pulled hard on it. It tore, causing pain to shoot through her. The mink bit back a cry, and continued on until she made it to the next branch. From there she looked at the claw. It was hanging on by a small bit of the nail and bleeding. She pulled away the now useless claw, and used a leaf to hold back the blood while she put pressure on it. After securing a makeshift bandage, she looked at the rest of her claws. Some of them were weakened from the hard work as short as they were, cracking even more, some of them broken and worn. Her muscles were aching, her tendons tight and she was shaking from the strain and her nerves. She looked up, and tried to distance how far she'd come, and saw how far away her branch was from the one she rested on.

It was far away, and Tundra thought about how much effort she'd put in just getting that far, and knew she'd have to give more. But it was too much for her, it was just too far. She knew she couldn't do it. Her emotions spilled over, and tears filled her eyes.

"I can't," she whispered to herself, feeling hot liquid slid into her fur. "I can't do it," she admitted, feeling sobs fill up her entire being. She started to cry, letting tears flow down her face and fall from her chin onto knees and bark. In between sobs she'd whisper her frustrations out through clenched teeth, letting it all out. She had come to her limit, she was finished, she could do no more. The mink didn't think about what to do next or anything else but her own failings. She was so preoccupied in being sorry for herself that she didn't notice in the failing light a shadow drop onto the branch nearby.

"Do you need some help?" Buck asked. If the mink turned around, she'd see something on the weasel's face that she hadn't seen before. Concern.

"Go away," Tundra said bitterly, trying to hide her tears from him. She wrapped her tail around her to shut away the male.

"So, you think you can make it up on your own, do you Angel-girl?" Buck inquired wonder in his voice.

"No, I can't," Tundra admitted, but didn't move.

Buck walked up to her. "Then let's get you up there." When Tundra didn't move, he went on. "Or are you going to sleep down here?"

"I don't care," Tundra sniffed, feeling like a fool around the weasel. If only she wasn't so useless, if only she could do something as simple as climbing a tree. She couldn't even find enough food and water on her own. If she suddenly were alone in this world, she'd die, and that made her so mad. But not at the weasel, at herself. But she couldn't help herself taking it out on Buck.

"Well, make up your mind, what's it going to be?" Buck asked, stamping his foot.

Tundra made a quick decision, still feeling tears coming out of her eyes, and didn't move. "I've decided to go home," she said quietly.

Buck had been impatient with the mink for the past couple of days, and his wild personality didn't allow for him to slack off for her or even feel sorry for her. He was tough on her to make her tough, just like she wanted. He learned to survive from trying experiences, and had learned from the worst. He expected what most animals would think would be the unexpected, but he didn't see Tundra's words coming.

"Wha? You're givin' up? Just like that?" Buck asked in disbelief. He remembered Tundra's bold, passionate words when she asked him to teach her, and thought less of her now. But not only that, he felt that he didn't want her to go. "You can't give up. This is your adventure. You wanted this."

"Sure, I can," Tundra muttered, whipping tears from her eyes away. "I can't do this any more. I just can't."

"Hey, Angel. You asked me for help, you wanted me to teach you how to survive. You just can't quit after all that," Buck told her, feeling angry with her pitiful attitude.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time," Tundra said, standing up and feeling angry herself. "But I can't be like you. I'm not as brave or bold or awesome as you. I can't look danger in the face and laugh like you. You're right. I'm just a little angel that fell from heaven that can't do anything because she was raised in paradise. I'm useless and stupid and I mess up all the time. You might as well try to teach me how to breath water." At that point, she started sobbing once again, harder this time, her shoulder's shaking and lungs heaving.

Buck realized that the female was crying, and stiffened up. He suddenly felt sorry for the coarse way he was acting, but he had no way to make her feel better. He could do a lot of things, many of them very extravagant and horribly dangerous. He knew a lot of things, including what to do when caught in a stegosaurus stampede. But one of the things he didn't know how to do was what to do when a female was sobbing. He'd never been in this situation. Maybe he could just inch away until Tundra was more of herself.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't leave her alone. But what could he do?

"Um. . .Let's get you back up to your home," he said lamely.

Tundra didn't protest, but just climbed onto his back, embarrassed that she was crying so openly in front of him. And she couldn't stop.

They stayed in silence as Buck climbed the tree, the only sound uttered was Tundra sniffing sometimes from her crying.

When he arrived to Tundra's home, it was his turn to make a decision. He let the mink off his back, and watched her a little as she sagged to the branch exhausted both physically and emotionally. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how he should begin. He did it as he did everything. Boldly and directly.

"I won't take you back," Buck told her sternly.

Tundra looked up at him as if he were crazy.

"It's my decision if you're wasting my time or not," he told her with the same stern voice. "And I say you aren't. We'll start your lessons again tomorrow at the same time," he told her.

"Whatever," Tundra muttered, not caring any more. She just had no energy for anything right now, except she staggered to the hammock she had never slept in. She didn't feel like curling up in a ball of fear under a bunch of leaves. She didn't see if Buck had left or not, but just plopped into the hammock, her tail hanging out. She curled up on her side, staring out as the last rays of light faded.

_Stupid Buck_, she muttered to herself, feeling like the worse mammal on earth. And just her luck, she had to meet second place.

* * *

><p>It took the two opossums a couple of weeks to figure out how to survive the fall into the dinosaur valley. They tried many things, like making a long rope out of bark and dry grass, but after a few hours of tying it together, they lost interest. They thought about finding another way through, but it could take years to scour every inch of the country for another entrance, and the one they knew of was destroyed. Then they remembered one time Buck floated through the air with a large leaf acting as a parachute. They decided that this would be the best way down. So they experimented with different leaves with their weight, using rocks as test subjects.<p>

After days and days of research, the two were finally able to put into action their first real test. They found a rock that was exactly the same weight as one opossum, and took it to the hole in the ice.

"Is the test subject ready?" Crash asked his brother with a serious look.

Eddie tightened the crude rope around the rock, and patted it. "Subject is ready and willing."

"Alright, let's do this."

"It's crunch time."

The two pushed on the rock at the same time, and rolled it to the edge. They paused dramatically as the rock tilted on the ice edge, and then let go. The rock fell, pulling with it the rope attached to a large leaf. The two opossums watched at the edge with large eyes.

"He's not going to make it!" Crash shouted and covered his eyes.

"He has to. Come on," Eddie said with determination, and watched as the leaf finally billowed out and caught air. The rock stopped falling so quickly, and floated easily on the breeze. "He did it! We did it, Crash!"

Crash opened his eyes and looked down with a big grin. "We did! Yes, we're going to make it. Ha ha!"

As they celebrated, a streamlined body with wings darted through the air, and caught the rock floating in the air. The pterodactyl chewed up the leaf, letting the rock fall naturally to the ground.

The two opossums stopped cheering and starred down through the whole with wide eyes. Then as one, they sat back as their whole plan was destroyed.

"That could have been us, bro," Eddie said with a sad look.

"I know. Our companion gave his life for us," Crash said with a hung head. "Let's have a moment of silence for our fallen conrad."

The two stood together for a while with lowered heads, the quietest they've been for quite a while.

Eddie came to life. "We can't let him die in vain," he said with a growl

"What do we do now? If we use the parachutes, those dinosaurs will eat us," Crash said, and grabbed his brother around the collar fur.

"Unless," Eddie started, his little brain starting to churn, "we use the dinosaurs to get down there."

Eddie's idea spread to Crash, and the two grinned.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Diego. You're looking particularly. . .uh. . .tiger-like today."<p>

"Did you sharpen your fangs? They are certainly quite sharp and white today."

"What do you two want?"

Crash and Eddie hardly skipped a beat when the sabor looked their way with half-closed eyes.

"Want? Why would you think we want something from you? Can't we come visit our favorite carnivore without being suspected of some malicious content?" Crash asked with indignation.

Diego rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid. You two are easier to read than a couple of dodos. Tell me what you want or I'll tell your sister you're up to something."

"Can you teach us how to fish?" Eddie asked quickly.

"Dude, I told you to be cool," Crash hissed at his brother.

"Why do you guys want to fish?" Diego asked, looking surprised and suspicious at the same time.

Crash didn't even bat an eyeball at his lie. "We're trying to impress some girls," he said, and the two looked embarrassed.

Diego looked as if he weren't going to buy it, but then smiled down at them. "Awww, you two found a couple of girlfriends. That's so cute."

The two opossums knew when they were being mocked. They just glared up at Diego.

"Are you going to help us or not?" Eddie asked.

Diego chuckled. "Yeah, but this is how it goes. For every lesson I give you, you have to take one of my shifts for when Sid 'watches' Peaches. Deal?"

It was a hard bargain.

"Sure," the two said, and shook paws with Diego.

* * *

><p>Much like he did every morning, Buck was at Tundra's tree early and ready to help the mink learn. However, he didn't receive his usual greeting from the female.<p>

"Up an' attem, Angel. It's a bright an' shiney day," Buck told her trying to be cheerful to make up for the night before.

Tundra didn't move at his appearance, and didn't respond to his cheerful attitude.

"Wake up, sleepy head," Buck told her, pushing her shoulder. "The day's wastin' away out here."

"Go away," she muttered, not moving an inch.

"But what about. . ." Buck started.

"Just leave me alone," Tundra said angrily, still not moving.

The weasel felt hurt. He had enjoyed her company for the most part of it, his first guest since the small rescue party came through for the sloth. But she had stayed longer. She had given him company, new ideas and conversations, something that he didn't think he'd miss by staying in the dinosaur valley. But now that she shut him out, he felt deeply hurt by it. But he did as she requested and left, thinking it was just some female stuff she was suffering from and needed some time alone. Or maybe she was home sick, and that's the real reason she wanted to leave? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

As he was climbing back down, Buck came up with an idea. He quickly went into action. As the day passed by, he collected the items he needed. He tried to rush through it, but ran into Rudy. Not that he minded too much, the albino giant was bound to catch up with him one of these days, and it had been a few weeks since they've gone head to head. Buck would have spent more time sending the baryonyx on a chase, but he had things to do. He tricked Rudy into running after shadows while he doubled back to where Tundra was. If she was mad at him now, she would be furious if he led Rudy back to her.

By the time he came back to Tundra's tree, it was around noon, half of the day still ready for him. He tied his things onto his back and started back up the tree. He found the mink right where he left her that morning. However, her ears did swivel around when she heard him climb up, and looked back. When she saw that it was him, she just lay back down.

"I told you to go away," she muttered, her mood still dark.

"And I did," Buck said smoothly. "And now I'm back."

"Go away again," Tundra spat at him. "I'm not in the mood."

"I'm not going to do that to you," Buck told her. "Loneliness is a bitter burden to have. So, you're going to come with me whether you like it or not."

Tundra was about to yell him again, but she felt her hammock tilt. "Wha? What are you doing?" she protested, and tried to fight as Buck picked her up in his strong arms and toss her over his shoulder. "Put me down, now! Buck, I'm warning you!"

The weasel didn't listen but carried her as he jumped from branch to branch, grabbing onto bark and vines with one paw as he moved.

Tundra had never been so angry in her life. She shouted and cursed at the weasel, threatening him until she was blue in the face. And even after a few weeks of living in the harsh jungle and building up muscles, she still wasn't strong enough to fight back. In the end, she just gave up, letting her weight sag over his shoulder, her long form jostling against his. After a while, she wondered where he was talking her, but didn't ask. She didn't feel like talking to him. Instead, she amused herself by annoying the weasel to the best of her ability. From her position, she could easily bother him by pulling out hairs from his back one by one.

Buck tried not to let it get to him, but it made his back itch and sting, causing him to jerk his shoulders around whenever another hair was pulled. After a while he retaliated by doing the same thing with her tail.

The female mink only reacted violently, kicking out at the weasel and punching him in the back.

"Ow, would you stop that!" Buck shouted at her.

"Then let me go," Tundra shouted back, thumping him one more time in the spine.

"Gladly," the weasel yelled, and unceremoniously dumped her onto the ground.

If Tundra hadn't been so angry, she might have been observant enough to notice the ground was soft and fuzzy, but her temper made her short sighted. "You're a crazy lunatic!" she shouted at him, trying to rid herself of the frustrations she felt by taking it out on him.

"I'm crazy?" Buck said. It wasn't anything new to him. "Who's crazier, the lunatic or the lunatic askin' for help from the lunatic?"

Tundra didn't say anything, but stayed where she was on the ground. She knew she was being childish, horrible and she should know better, but she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to go back on what she said or done even though she knew she was wrong. But the more she stayed in her net of stubbornness, the worse she felt. And she knew she deserved to feel awful, so she continued to stay there.

Without asking for her permission, Buck used a short vine to tie around the mink's waist, and connected it to his own, leaving onto a short length between them.

"Is this one of your character building games?" Tundra muttered, tugging at the vine to see if the knot was tight enough.

"No, I thought we'd do something different today," Buck said mysteriously. "This day is just for you."

Tundra couldn't even muster enough energy to be curious, but just shrugged.

"Oy, an' you might want to hang onto me," Buck called to her, and lifted up another vine that seemed to be tied to the ground.

Before Tundra could tell him she wasn't going to touch him, the weasel whistled loudly. Suddenly the ground started to move all around her, bright colors dash all over and the air whooshed around her. She stood up as the ground trembled around her, and she grabbed for Buck despite their fight. When she had a good hold with her paws locked around his ribcage, she was able to look around at everything.

Colors flashed all around her, and her eyes took in the beautiful sight. It took her a while to realize that dozens of giant butterflies were taking flight, and she was riding on one of them. For the first time since she fell from the ice sky, Tundra was not afraid of heights. She didn't seem to be afraid of anything right now. She didn't know if it was the shock, or that she'd just been too emotionally exhausted to feel anything, but she looked down from the butterfly's back without a care as the trees grew further and further away. But she knew she couldn't be emotionally dead, because she felt joy and wonder at the world below her. It didn't matter how many times she saw it from above, it was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

The butterfly swooped and soared, it's flight much more calming than the one Tundra had with the pterodactyl. The insect dove down softly closer to the trees, fluttering just above the canopy. It passed in and around the necks of the taller dinosaurs, then skirted around the heads of the smaller herbivores. Then it moved across a river, following it up to the lake it ran from, then headed upward along the side of a cliff that sported a waterfall.

Tundra gasped as she felt the moisture along the waterfall, and almost thought they would go through the rainbow it made. Even after the waterfall ended, the butterfly continued upward, it's powerful wings easily moving through the small clouds that had collected in the valley, then evened out at a high altitude.

"Are you directing it?" Tundra asked the weasel she was clinging to.

"Just a little bit," Buck told her. "These things usually drive themselves." He pulled the butterfly up to make it go higher.

Soon, the ice sky was very close to their heads, and the air was colder up at that altitude. Tundra looked up and could see through the ice. Mammals of many shapes and sizes moving along on top of it. It was so weird to see the shadowed underside of so many animals, many of them hundreds of times bigger than she was. She could even hear the thudding of the larger one's feet and sometimes a bellow or a call.

Buck looked back at the mink and saw her smiling broadly. She wasn't looking at him, but her eyes were fixated on the ice sky. He smiled in return. When Tundra finally met his gaze, he lifted up his knife to the sky, the sharp blade leading. The noise was sharp and hurt her ears, but the results made the mink smile even more brightly.

"It's snowing," she laughed as shaved ice fell into her face. "You're making it snow." Tundra first let one paw go and then another, standing on her own on the butterfly with her paws in the air. She then whooped.

Buck joined her as the butterfly navigated in circles along the ice sky, sometimes swerving to miss a large icicle. After a while of letting Tundra enjoy the "snow", he called back to her.

"Get into my pack. There's some egg shells in there," he told her, still holding his knife up to the sky.

Tundra didn't ask why, but did, her breath excited by what was happening to her. She pulled out the egg shells. "Now what?"

"Catch the snow. Get as much as you can," Buck told her.

Tundra did as she was told, wondering how much she could catch and why he wanted the snow. It'd just melt quickly in the warm dinosaur valley.

After a few minutes of shaving the ice sky, Buck put his knife away and guided the butterfly back down to the trees, finding some large flowers. The butterfly was ready to go to the flowers and didn't require too much guiding. Once landed, the weasel removed the vine he had around the butterfly, and let it go, but the insect was too happy lapping up nectar in the large flowers with it's long tongue to realize it was free. He then cut the vine connecting himself to the mink and helped her down, Tundra's paws full of the egg shells and snow.

Buck laughed when he finally looked at Tundra, her red-brown face covered with snow that had yet to melt.

Tundra only smiled widely before shaking the shaved ice away.

Buck led her down from the flowers onto the tree branches below and then left her. He scrambled away and when he was back, he had a couple of fruit that grew in the tree. He took a hold of one, and squeezed it onto one of the piles of shaved ice, then did the same to the second eggshell. He took one from Tundra and sat down.

Tundra did the same and looked down at the now colorful snow with a tilt of her head.

"It's a little piece of heaven," Buck joked, and bit into his shaved ice.

Tundra cautiously licked her serving, feeling the taste of chilled fruit juice on her tongue. "This is amazing," she told Buck. "I'd never thought of doing this."

"Me mum used to do this whenever I was sad," Buck told her, looking very nostalgic. "It's always been good for me whenever I feel homesick."

Tundra straightened up. "It's strange to think you've been homesick," Tundra told him with a small smile. "I thought you're supposed to be a tough guy."

"Wot? Even tough guys get to feel homesick," Buck said in mock offense. "Next thing you'll say that tough guys don't get to have mums."

Tundra chuckled, feeling lighter than she was that morning. She looked back on herself from the last twenty-four hours, and felt ashamed of her behavior. She starred down into her shaved ice, wondering how she could even begin to apologize.

"Hey, Buck. I'm really sorry for some of the things I've said lately," she told him, playing with some of the colorful snow in the eggshell. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I really don't want to quit. I want to stay here."

Buck gave her a sly grin. "You just can't stay away, can you?" he said with a wink.

His self-confidence was inspiring, but Tundra couldn't leave it at that. "That fight was partially your fault, you know?" she rounded on him, but with only a touch of anger. "If you'd stop scaring me all the time, I wouldn't be messing up as much as I do. I can't handle that much stress. Do you even know what I go through every time you push me into something dangerous?"

Tundra remembered each experience. As danger came closer to her, she'd hear her grandmother's voice in her head, telling how she'd die in a horrible, painful way. Then Tundra couldn't help thinking in a morbid way if this was the death that her grandmother foretold. Or was this just an accident that would maim or cripple her right before the horrible, painful death came for her.

Buck became pacified by this, looking at her with a strange look. Then he looked curious. "Why are you always so scared? You should know by now that I wouldn't let you get hurt. At least not too much."

Tundra had this whole speech prepared about how her grandmother's predictions, and how they always come true. Those words had been haunting her for the past two weeks, making her dread every minute she could be in mortal peril. But that speech died in her throat at Buck's words.

"Wha?" she asked looking confused.

"I promised you that I'd get you home, didn' I?" Buck asked her, looking smug. "That should have been enough for you."

Tundra thought about it awhile, then argued against it. "You never promised to get me back home alive or in one piece," she said innocently.

It was Buck's turn to be speechless as he raised his paw to defend himself but realized he couldn't. "You have me there, Angel-girl," he said with a laugh.

Tundra smiled proudly, even though she knew it was a stupid argument to win.

"Alright, new promise," Buck said, and placed his paw on his chest where his heart was. "I promise to get you back home alive and well."

Tundra ate some more of her snow before smiling back at him. "Thanks. Now I feel a whole lot better," she said with a big smile.

The mink's smile must have been contagious because Buck couldn't help smiling back. He wanted to say something to her about how good it was to see her smile, and be happy, but that didn't seem like him. It was too mushy. So he just slugged her on the arm, although softly.

Tundra looked down at her arm, and then at Buck offended. "What did I do now?" she demanded.

"Nothin', its just. . .its what mates do. You know. . ." Buck defended himself, and continue to speak.

"Mates?" Tundra repeated and suddenly felt her face turning read. She felt so hot, she wondered if her snow would melt.

"Well, you know," Buck said, looking embarrassed. "I've haven't had many in my life, so right now. . .yeah, you're me best mate, Angel."

Tundra felt embarrassed too, for two reasons. First was that she misinterpreted Buck's words which would have been a terrible mistake on her part, and second that he actually was telling her that he considered her a friend. "I am?"

"Well, yeah. You're the only choice I've got," Buck told her, his voice teasing.

"Geez, thanks," Tundra muttered just as teasing. She finished with her snow and set the egg shell down. "Well, if it's any consolation, you're my best friend too. But I don't know how much that says. The only friend I've had before is my cousin, Frost. She's one of the few mammals I know that actually tried to make my life happy. Gosh, I miss her."

Buck rubbed his neck. "You still feelin' homesick?" he asked with concern.

Tundra shook her head and looked away. "No, just a little lonely. But not anymore now that I have my best friend."

"Good, because I have one more surprise for you," Buck said jumping to his feet, pulling up the mink with him. "Hurry before it gets dark."

The weasel pushed the mink to her limits to hurry through the jungle. Halfway there, Tundra realized he was taking her back to her tree, the terrain starting to look familiar. He didn't even ask her to jump onto his back, but puller her on and started up the tree. By the time they reached her branch, the light had dimmed to cold shadows.

"Alright, sit down. You're going to love this," Buck told her, and pulled out what looked like a whole egg shell with some vine around it.

Tundra's mouth began to water. Did he bring her an egg to eat? She'd been craving eggs since she arrived, feeling depraved of one of her favorite food. And it showed on her frame that she wasn't as well fed as before. But Tundra had guessed wrong, but she wasn't disappointed with what was inside the egg shell.

Buck opened it up, the egg already broken, and lifted up the top half.

In an instant, hundreds of lights flew out, swirling and twirling all around the two mammals. Tundra's eyes lit up as she watched them, turning around and around as the lights moved all around her. She gasped at the sight, holding out her paw to catch one softly. She felt tiny legs crawling on her paws.

"They're fireflies," Buck told her as she looked interested in the bug. "Pretty, aren't they?"

"They're lovely," she said, and let it go back with its brothers. After a while, the fireflies found a spot on branches or leaves, and settled down, flashing their lights or flitting around a little.

"They'll probably stay around; they're lazy little buggers," Buck said lightly, and sat down next to the mink.

Tundra sat still and leaned back on her hands to stare up at the bugs. "It's like I'm looking up at the night sky back at home, looking at all the stars."

Buck leaned back to look at them, trying to remember what it was like back up at the surface. It was complicated times back then, full of memories and mammals he'd not thought back to for so long. He'd been down in the valley so long, he was starting to forget faces, names, sights and smells. Even the cold. The never ending cold of the Ice A. . .

"Thank you so much," Tundra cried out and nearly bowled Buck over with a tackle hug. "Thank you for everything," she said again, her voice sounding emotional.

"Don' sweat it, Angel-girl," Buck told her, his reminiscing being jostled from him. He ruffled the fur on her head. "Just remember it for tomorrow, will ya. I'd rather not get another earful from you."

Tundra punched him in the arm with playful anger, laughing when he stuck his tongue out at her. She then lay on her back, her eyes on the bugs. When she felt Buck do the same, she felt her heart quicken. To hide any kind embarrassment she was feeling, she began to speak. "Am I doing alright?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" the weasel asked.

"I mean with learning how to survive down here. Do you think I'm doing alright?" Tundra asked again, rubbing her arm nervously. "I'd just like to know if I'm useful, that I'm actually helping out."

Buck grunted. "You are pretty much useless at survival," he sneered.

"Hey," Tundra cried out, sitting up and turning to him, his insensitive comment making her angry. She raised a fist.

"Yep, you'd probably die on your own," Buck continued on, not even flinching from Tundra's fist. "But you're not completely useless. There are other things you're good at."

Tundra blinked at this, lowering her fists. "I am? Like what?" she asked, wanting to know what Buck thought of her.

The weasel hesitated for a while, his mouth unable to move as he looked into the expectant face of the mink. When he finally was able to speak, he stuttered over his words. "Well. . .ah. . .you do make the day go by faster."

"Huh?" Tundra asked with a look of confusion.

"You know, it's like you make the day better," Buck tried to explain, rubbing the back of his neck. "And it's better when you're smiling."

Tundra's ears perked up and she smiled brightly. "Really? You think so?"

"Yeah," Buck said, clearing his voice. "Now stop with the mushy stuff, alrigh'" Buck told her, and pushed her away to stand up and stretch. "Well, it's time for me to head home. That pineapple wife of mine will have me hide for being this late."

Suddenly the joy inside Tundra melted, and she had to remind herself that Buck was married. It felt odd, like she was dizzy. But she shook it off and kept smiling. "Alright, see you tomorrow." She waved the weasel away, trying to watch his shadow to the end. Then she tip toed to her hammock, and fell in, feeling joy come back to her as she watched the fireflies.

She lay for a long while in the dark reflecting on the day. She felt so much more braver about the next day after Buck had told her he'd never let her get hurt. And she berated herself for not seeing it sooner. He was always right there with her. He caught her every time she fell, or at least from very high places. Even last night when she tried to climb the tree by herself, he was probably watching over her in the shadows.

She replayed everything she had seen, felt and tasted, wanting to keep it fresh in her mind forever. Nobody had done anything like this for her, just for her. It was amazing that he'd do it just to cheer her up. But then she knew why; the two of them were best friends now. That's what friends do for each other, they help each other out. She'd want to do the same for him or Frost, so it made sense. But no matter how much she told herself, she just completely convince herself that she thought of him as only a friend.

_Stupid Buck_, she thought to herself, still smiling but a tear came to her eye. _It's all your fault that I'm feeling this way._

And that was the first time she admitted to herself that she was undeniably and irreversibly in love with him. And for the first time in her life, she had a secret that she could never speak. Especially not to her best friend.

* * *

><p>Buck tiptoed through the house in the dark, his jungle senses giving him an edge to move around silently. He was just making his way into the bedroom when suddenly the fireflies lit up the ceiling. There was a greater number than the ones he'd given Tundra, so he could see everything around him. He froze in the light, and turned his head around slowly to meet the cold stare of his ugly wife's face.<p>

"Oh. . .Hello, luv. I didn' know you were still up," Buck said, giving her his best smile. Then it fell. "Where wuz I? I was with Tundra, luv. Yes, I have to see her everyday. Whassit? No, there's nothin' goin' on. How could you say that, luv? She is not. She's like me best mate, sweetie. Nothin' more. It's all in your head, luv. I know she's a mink, but what's that got to do with anythin'."

Buck's face grew dark as he listened further, not wanting to continue arguing with the pineapple any more. He sighed and rubbed his face, taking care not to move his eye patch. This was the first fight they had since Tundra moved out. He had hoped their relationship was taking a turn for the better, but this was a drastic change.

"Look, luv. She acts just like any other mammal. She's completely normal. Not at all like that. I know I. . .But she. . .If you'd just get to know her, baby, I'm sure you'll see. Let's have her over for dinner sometime. That way you can spend more time with her. Please, baby."

The pineapple was silent, contemplating her husband's words.

"That's my girl," Buck said with a laugh, and picked her up. "You're the best, baby." He kissed her rough cheek, and then carried her into the bedroom. "Boy, am I tired. It's been a really late night. Goodnight, luv." He pulled the covers over the two of them, and rolled onto his side.

After a while, his wife rolled over closer to him and he could feel her light touch through his fur. But he just didn't feel like in the mood, so he snored quietly, pretending he had already fallen asleep.

End of Chapter 3

* * *

><p>(Manny walks on stage.)<p>

Manny: (In his usual sullen, calm way) Hi, I'm Manny the Mammoth. I guess you all know who I am. I hope. If you don't, you're reading the wrong story. Anyway, I'm here to give you all a teaser for next chapter, even though I'm not even in the story. (Reaches behind him, pulls out a pair of glasses and puts them on his trunk. Then he pulls out a peice of paper.)

(clears throat)

Oh, woe is the heroine of the story for she is torn between two worlds. What will become of her? Will she eventually go home? Or will Buck's crazy life eventually drive her insane? And what about the oppossum duo? Will they jump into the hole and become smears on the rocks? Or will they make it into the dinosaur world safely? Will Ellie choose to perm her fur? Will Sid appear at all in the story? And who is that creepy guy that's always trying to get some nuts? So many questions, so little time. Tune in next time when probably none of these questions will be answered on "Love Makes You Crazy".

(pause)

Well, that was completely pointless. Now where is that author. She owes me fifty bucks!

(Lumbers off somberly)


	4. Chapter 4: Some Things There Is No Cure

(Author's note: Hey everyone. And welcome to Chapter four. I'm very happy that there are a few more people reading my story than before. You're commends are like yummy sugary treats for me. Nom nom. For those of you who like long chapters, this one is my longest yet. I wanted to do shorter ones, but this one I couldn't shorten. It's great the way it is. And since so many of you loved Manny's part of giving the teaser, at the end of this chapter will be another guest star to give the teaser. Enjoy!)

Love Makes You Crazy

By Hatashi Kitty

Chapter Four: Some Things There is No Cure For

I was sleeping and right in the middle of a good dream

Like all at once I wake up from something that keeps knocking at my brain

Before I go insane I hold my pillow to my head

And spring up in my bed screaming out the words I dread

I think I love you

This morning I woke up with this feeling

I didn't know how to deal with and so I just decided to myself

I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it

And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room

I think I love you

I think I love you so what am I so afraid of

I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for

I think I love you isn't that what life is made of

Though it worries me to say that I never felt this way

I don't know what I'm up against

I don't know what it's all about

I got so much to think about

Hey, I think I love you so what am I so afraid of

I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for

I think I love you isn't that what life is made of

Though it worries me to say I never felt this way

Believe me you really don't have to worry

I only wanna make you happy and if you say "hey go away" I will

But I think better still I'd better stay around and love you

Do you think I have a case let me ask you to your face

Do you think you love me?

I think I love you.

-The Partridge Family

The green grass tickled her hind paws as she ran slowly through the vegetation, dandelion puff seeds breaking away in her wake creating a path of white behind her. She looked back with a giggle, her eyes teasing her pursuer.

"You can't catch me," she taunted, leaping through the flowers. However, she gasped as strong paws took her from behind. As she was pulled in the other direction, she turned around gracefully. She didn't even get a chance to brace herself as those strong paws lifted her into the air and twirled her around. She laughed, not being able to keep it in as he laughed as well.

On the last spin, the two fell over. The grass was soft, it was like falling onto several inches of moss. His back was against the grass and she was laying on top of him, paws on his chest and looking into his one eye. He reached up with one paw, softly teasing her fur before gently pulling his face toward hers. They came closer and. . .

"Rise an' shine, Angel-girl. Day's a wastin'," a deep voice shouted.

Tundra woke up abruptly to the same face in her dreams, but he was upside down and grinning at her in a wild fashion, knife in paw. She felt like she was falling, and scrambled to find something solid to grab onto. She twisted and turned in the hammock, which finally dumped her onto the tree branch, her lower half sliding off so she had to dig her damaged claws into the tree.

"Had a bad dream, Angel?" Buck asked, looking down at her.

Tundra could feel her heart beating against her chest as if it were trying to escape. She stayed clutched to the tree branch for a while. When she was able to shake off the last of her dream and Buck's scare, she stood up straight. "No, I was having a great dream," Tundra told him honestly. "Until you stuck your face up to mine and ruined it. I told you not to scare me so much."

"Are you sayin' my face is ugly?" Buck asked her, moving up close to her.

After that particular dream, Tundra couldn't handle the weasel being so close to her. She ducked around Buck shaking her head. "Let's just go, okay," she told him.

Buck followed after her as the mink slowly made her way down the tree. "You didn't answer me. Do you?"

"You're beautiful in your own way," Tundra told him with a teasing smile. It was something her mother said about the minks who were aesthetically challenged. She and Frost always said it to each other as a joke.

"Why thank you, Angel-girl," Buck played on the joke. "That was mighty nice of ya."

By the way she could joke around with him, Tundra felt that something changed in her relationship with the weasel since the night before. She'd have to use the word chummy. But despite how loose she acted, inside she was a chaotic mess of emotions.

It was easy to admit she did have feelings toward Buck, but she couldn't be sure that it was love. She had never been in love before, so how was she to know exactly what it was. And Buck's actions last night had been charming, but he didn't act like that all the time, so perhaps she was taking it out of context. She mentally erased what she admitted to herself last night, and decided this was merely a crush. Like the one she had on a mongoose from one of her Grandfather's tales. Nothing more than that.

However, the dream had fed her heart more, and if her mind was left idol she'd think back on her dream. So to keep her mind out of trouble, she concentrated more on her training.

The days after Buck's surprise for Tundra went smoothly for the two. They each had learned from the other, and were now willing to compromise with one another.

To begin with, Tundra stopped screaming so much. She tried to take bolder steps and listen to Buck always. She stopped her sarcastic comments both muttering and inner commentary. She also remembered what Buck had told her, that he wouldn't let her get hurt. That thought kept her going on, even when it looked tough.

Buck, in turn, tried to encourage her more. He didn't know how except for one thing. He tried to build her confidence. They continued to play the dangerous game of dinosaur chicken, finding larger and more threatening lizards to come at them. One time in a last minute decision, Buck had bolted before Tundra did. He was more surprised than Tundra that he had done that, but he didn't let her know. He allowed her to think she had won on her own, and it made her feel better. Her confidence soared after that, breaking open a dam for her. She still made mistakes, but she immediately corrected them or jumped back to what she was doing. Her spirits were renewed, and she worked with fervor toward her goal.

And if Tundra had a particularly nerve-wracking experience from Buck's lesson, he gave her a break by teaching her how to survive by herself. He taught her where she could harvest food and where to get everything she'd need. He showed her what could be poisonous and what would eat her. However, once they were on the subject of plants, Tundra for once was able to teach something to Buck for once.

Tundra broke open a leaf, and smelled it.

"This is an aloe plant," Tundra told him, holding the oozing leaf to Buck's nose. "It's good for soothing burns. I know that's what my aunt used to treat my cousin, Tinder, when he shaved himself after losing a bet. He was sunburned from nose to tail," she related with a laugh.

She didn't know the names of the plants, but by scent she could tell which ones had the right properties for certain aches and pains.

"How do you know all this?" Buck said, looking at the grass she just explained could bring a fever down.

"Some of it from my mother. She knew the right kind of treatment for cuts so not to leave 'unsightly' scars," Tundra said, using her paw to make quotation marks. "But most of it from my Grammie. She may be a few whiskers short, if you know what I mean, but she's very knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

Buck seemed impressed.

"What about that fruit?" Tundra asked, pointing to a couple of purple berries she'd never seen before. "What do these taste like?"

Buck stopped her before she touched them. "They're not poisonous, but they'll give you the trots, Angel-girl," he said with a dark smile.

Tundra backed away from them quickly.

It took her a couple of days, but Tundra realized that they had been gathering a wide variety of foods but not eating any of them. When she did see it as strange (even for Buck), she asked the weasel about it.

"You got me, Angel," Buck said, putting his paws in the air lazily. "Me and the misses was planning a big dinner, and wanted to invite you."

"What? Really?" Tundra wondered. Since that time, she had been relying on Buck to bring her food every morning and evening. But since she learned to find her own food, she had been proud of this new independence, and wanted to stop relying on the weasel. She started to turn down the offer.

"But my wife insists," Buck told her. "She's wanting to get to know you a little more."

Tundra didn't let it show on her face, but she didn't believe that statement at all. Buck may have been oblivious of the fact, but Tundra knew that the pineapple had disliked the mink ever since they had met. However, Tundra wanted to think the best of Buck's wife, and thought that there might be a chance that the pineapple was willing to become acquainted with her.

"Okay, sounds fun," Tundra said, doing her best to fake a smile.

"Alright, Angel. Now let's go catch us a fish," Buck said, and thumped her on the back.

"Fish," the mink repeated, her ears perking up. It had been almost a month since she last tasted fish. Her mouth watered at the thought, and immediately followed with more upbeat energy.

If it was a lesson that Tundra had to keep learning the hard way, it was the lesson that nothing was easy in this world. And fishing was no exception.

Tundra wasn't at all surprised when Buck led her back to the pond they visited on her second day in the valley. The pond that was infested with large carnivorous fish, but was blessedly leechless.

Tundra went to the top of an incline that looked over a deep part of the water. She leaned over, looking down in the water. It was a murky green, and she could see some fish swimming around lazily. They didn't looks so big.

Then a large dragonfly flew over the water, its little legs skimming the surface. It was the dragonfly's last mistake. A fish darted to the surface and grabbed the insect in its mouth.

Tundra stumbled back, looking aghast. The fish was a lot bigger than they seemed underwater. Big enough to make a meal out of her.

"Let's see if I can get one of those buggers," Buck said as he appeared beside her, a noose made from a vine in his paws. He threw the noose in the water, and gave the mink the other end. "When I give you the signal, pull on it," he told her.

Just as the weasel ran off the edge into the water, Tundra suddenly had a question about exactly what signal he was talking about but never got to vocalize it. As his splash made a few droplets jump out at her, she just exhaled deeply and waited. From her spot on the small hill, she could see the entire pond. However, after a while, she lost sight of the spotted pelt of Buck from under the water. But as she waited, she saw his head come up once in a while for air and then go back down.

After few minutes of waiting, Tundra spotted some thrashing in the water. She suddenly feared for Buck. At first she had confidence that Buck could handle the large fish, but what if he couldn't? What if a fish was eating him right now? What could she do?

After a few more seconds, Buck came up out of the water quite a distance away from the thrashing. He slapped the water with his paws, shouting. Immediately, the thrashing stopped and a slim shape started moving toward him in the water. Buck dove back down, and started swimming back toward the vine loop, the form in the water following him.

Tundra saw it all, and finally saw a dorsal fin coming out of the water. The fish was near the surface, and she could see its size. It was much larger than the fish she saw before. Realizing that her part in this fiasco might be the one thing to save his life, Tundra braced herself to pull on vine. She watched with unblinking eyes as Buck grabbed the vine loop and faced the giant fish. It happened in seconds, Buck kicked away from the loop as the fish snapped at him, moving the loop over the fish's head.

"Pull!" Buck shouted before he dove down into the water.

Tundra saw how close the fish was to Buck, and pulled as she saw its back arch as it dove after the weasel. She pulled as hard as she could, feeling the loop tighten around the fish's tail. She continued to pull with all her strength. However, (and she realized this later on) it was ridiculous to think she could hold back such a powerful creature, and felt herself jerk over the incline. The act surprised her and she let go of the vine, spinning as she fell into the water. When she opened her eyes, she nearly breathed in water since she hadn't been prepared. Desperate for air, she swam as hard as she could toward the surface. She didn't get far when something grabbed her and started pulling her the other way. She thrashed and kicked at the thing, trying to get away. But it was too strong for her.

_Grandmother, this must be it. This must be that horrible death you saw me have. I've had my adventure, like you said. Now I will be torn to bits to feed a couple of fish_, Tundra thought, wishing more than anything that she could have one more breath.

To her amazement but relief, her head broke the surface and she was able to breath again with a few coughs. Buck had his arms wrapped around her, being the one who dragged her up to the surface. Her brain suddenly realized that when she fell into the pond, she had become disoriented not know which way was up or down, and was swimming in the wrong direction. By luck, Buck had seen her and helped her back up.

"Move it, Angel," Buck ordered, swimming toward the bank with her in tow.

Tundra could feel something in the water breaking the surface, and she caught a glimpse of rows of sharp, white teeth. She then threw her arms at the water, swimming as fast as she could to get away from the giant fish. She dove under the surface, letting her lithe, long body move quickly through the water much like she'd do in the rivers at home. She came up for breath and was about to dive again when she was stopped by a gentle touch.

"It's alright," Buck gasped, out of breath. He turned around just to show her.

Tundra looked back to see the terrible teeth of the fish snapping at her just a short distance away. She swam back a bit just to be safe. But when the fish stopped moved, it was pulled back a little. She could see the vine still attached to its tail still caught by the vine and it led all the way back up the incline to a tree. The mink turned around and slowly made it back to the bank, crawling up the sandy shore. She lay down, not caring about the sand clutching at her fur.

"Good times, eh Angel-girl," Buck said, laughing at the fact they both nearly died. "Good for the heart."

Tundra sat up quickly and punched him in the arm as hard as she could.

"Ow. What?"

"You could have told me you tied the vine to the tree," Tundra yelled at the weasel.

"I thought it was obvious," Buck said.

Tundra felt stupid that she had over-looked Buck's tying the vine to the tree. "Well, you could have said something," she said lamely.

Buck laughed at her. "You're something, Angel, thinking you could hold back the fish by yourself. Ha ha ha."

Tundra didn't think it was funny, and looked away from him. Then she stood up and started washing off the sand.

"Don't get too pretty, Angel. We still got to reel it in and gut it," Buck said with a wild grin, holding up his knife to gently rub his thumb down it.

Tundra blanched at the thought.

It took them a while to reel the big fish in, most of the time they had to wait for the fish to rest, and then pull in the slack. Getting it up out of the water was even harder. Finally they got it up on the high bank, and Buck picked up his knife.

Tundra was looking at the fish, seeing it up close for the first time. It wasn't as big as she thought it would be. The water and all the thrashing made it look bigger than she thought it was.

"Either move it or you do the work," Buck told her, and pushed her to the side.

Tundra wasn't squeamish about this kind of thing, she'd seen fish guts before. But this was a really, really big fish, and those were really, really big guts. She looked away as Buck pulled out more and more of the organs and threw them into the pond to be eaten by the other fish. She heard cracking, and looked in time to see him cut the head off as well.

"You can look again," Buck told her, humor in his voice.

Tundra tried to be tough, and not let his teasing get to her. "Okay, how do we get it back to your house."

Buck gave her directions, and the two quickly constructed a carrier for the fish, and the two were able to lift it together enough after Buck told her with a wink that the fish would be a lot lighter than before. But it was true, no matter how disgusting it was, and they were able to manage the weight all the way to Buck's house.

"Hey, luv. We've got us a feast tonight," Buck shouted as he pushed back the leaf doorway. "Break out the good china."

Tundra cautiously made her way in, feeling like she was walking on egg shells.

Buck bent down to kiss his wife, but suddenly jerked away as if he were pushed. He smelled himself. "It's only fish, luv. But it's a manly scent. Oh, alright. I'll go clean up."

And that left Tundra with the pineapple. She nervously rubbed her arm, wondering what to say. And how was she to have a conversation with the pineapple when she couldn't understand what she was saying. Tundra heaved a sigh, and sat down, hoping that wouldn't be too impolite.

"Beautiful weather we're having?" Tundra tried.

No response.

"So, how are you doing?"

Silence.

"Buck tells me you're into basket weaving," she tried again.

Still nothing.

Tundra looked to see if Buck was back yet. She didn't know if the pineapple was giving her the cold shoulder or if she was just reading the fruit wrong.

"I helped catch the fish," she said, almost to herself. Then she slapped herself in the face. _Why am I trying to have a conversation with a pineapple?_

That's when Buck came in, not even noticing how heavy the atmosphere was. "Alright, everyone. Who's hungry?"

Buck carved chunks of fish flesh out of the body to put on the table, and Tundra set out the dishes and the rest of the food. Soon, Buck was happily eating and telling about the wild story of catching the fish. Tundra could feel the mocking smirk of the pineapple when Buck came to the part where Tundra tumbled into the water. The weasel laughed and teased her.

By now, Tundra thought she would be used to Buck's teasing, and if she didn't she could just hit him. But not here with an audience, not here with someone else to judge her. And it was even worse here, feeling the pineapple's dislike for her. It could be worse, Tundra told herself. It will be worse if my secret comes out. My horrible, horrible secret; my feelings that are living inside of me. She felt trapped there, not knowing what to do but smile even though she didn't feel like it.

The dinner went by slowly for her, and she did her best to be pleasant and happy during the feast. Near the end, she loosened up a bit by telling the pineapple a story about Buck, one of the few that Buck didn't like. It was her only gem.

A day not too long ago, Buck had been particularly reckless and wild, swinging in the vines while doing tricks while Tundra was trying to climb a tree to a small bird's nest. She had been craving eggs again, and decided that she was going to get them herself. So she was distracted through most of what Buck was doing. He tried a particular difficult trick, missed the vine and plummeted into a soft, warm puddle of. . .well, Tundra was hesitant to say the word in front of the pineapple, but to say the least, it was made from a very big dinosaur. Tundra had turned around when Buck shouted, and was able to see his not-so-graceful landing. She had laughed so hard she couldn't hold onto the tree and fell off.

For once, Buck wasn't smiling. He remembered the ordeal, and he had sulked the whole day while soaking in a river to wash the smell off.

After the dinner, Tundra said goodnight to Buck's wife, sensing that perhaps there was a calmer attitude between the two, which she was relieved about, and left the home escorted by Buck through the dark jungle.

"What was with telling that story to my wife?" Buck inquired with raised eyebrows. "She's going to be laughing at me for days."

"Hey, if you can't take it, then don't dish it out," Tundra told him roughly, and crossed her arms.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, stop teasing me," she told him, and raised her fist to hit him in the arm again.

Buck, dodged it, and danced away. "Oh, you missed, Angel."

Tundra jumped at him, trying to hit him. She really didn't have a streak for violence, but she so wanted to stop Buck's taunting. She swung at him again and again, but the weasel dodged every one of them. She never missed before, but this time Buck knew that she was going to hit him. She didn't have the element of surprise. After a while, she picked up some seed pods from the ground and started throwing them at him. She didn't have a problem hitting him with those.

"Ow, hey. Stop that. Truce, mate. C'mon," Buck called out to her, shielding himself with his arms.

Tundra tossed down her remaining pods. "Fine, truce."

They shook paws.

"Geez, Angel. You're getting to be quite deadly. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't taught you how to fight yet," Buck said, rubbing his head where a lump was forming.

"Fight?" Tundra repeated.

"Sure. You got to defend yourself," Buck told her. "The skills are practically useless down here, nothing your size to pick on. But up there," he said, pointing up at the ice sky, "is where you'll need it. A girl like you'll need to fight off the boys once you get back."

Tundra felt her cheeks go red. "Do you. . .do you really think I'm that pretty?" she asked softly, almost not daring to say such a girly thing.

"Aye, that you are. Now that you tumbled off a few ounces and slimmed up a bit," Buck told her, his voice no different than if he were talking about the weather or rocks. "And I always say exercise is the best way to get a healthy pelt."

Tundra didn't know if she felt insulted by Buck's remark about her weight or if she should be pleased by his compliments. Whatever the case, her cheeks started to feel warm, and she smiled slightly in the dark. And then a question came to mind.

"So, where did you learn how to fight?" she asked. "Certainly not down here."

It was as if Buck hadn't heard her say anything. "I'd love to see how the faces of those males when they come to court you," Buck laughed, imaging it. "They won't be expecting a spit fire from you. Heh heh heh."

Suddenly the memory that she had left a fiance up in the ice world came back to the mink. She had never told Buck about it, and it was just another secret she kept bottled up. What would he say to that?

And what would her fiance and family say if they saw her now? Her mind wandered to each mink, thinking about what they would say to the new her. She wondered this all the rest of the night as Buck took her home and before she fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The next day, Buck was going to tell Tundra of his plan to teach her to fight, and maybe soon they would go on a long trip somewhere. However, their plans were brought to an abrupt halt when a monsoon came in. Buck was ready for all sorts of weather, and decided to start her training despite the rain. However, after one day of running around in pouring showers, Tundra came down with an awful cold and had to stay up in her tree for a few days. To entertain herself, Buck gave her a project of making a weapon.<p>

"You want me to sharpen a rock. . .with another rock?" Tundra repeated with a droll face.

"That's the jest of it, yeah," Buck told her logically.

The mink sneezed, then looked back down at the two rocks in her paws. She couldn't tell the difference between the two, but Buck was adamant that they were different. "How?" she asked skeptically.

Buck showed her how to slid one on the other in quick, smooth motions, explaining that it was a long process, but it was necessary.

"We can always try to get another tooth from Rudy?" Buck suggested when she protested again, giving her a sly look.

Tundra had never seen Rudy, but it was still a threat to retreat from. "Yay, rocks," she muttered, and started at it while Buck ran off into the jungle to play without her.

For days, the rain continued to fall. Tundra didn't leave the tree, having to rely on Buck to bring her food. Every time he arrived, he checked the mink's progress on her rock, telling her to keep up the good work. The mink was miserable, feeling gloomy from the weather and her sickness. However, a wild streak had built up inside her, and she refused to stay in bed the whole time.

She started working on her muscles for climbing. It didn't take her long to determine that she'd have to start climbing the tree once again, and she wouldn't have a repeat of the fight she had with Buck to try again. So she started with climbing up small parts of the tree, reaching smaller branches before using a vine to go back down. After a while, she also could climb down on her nails, slower, but it was something for her to do. And at the end of every day, she's rub her tired paws and check over all her nails. They were getting long and sharp enough that she could start using them like a proper mammal should.

It was in the middle of the night when the rain stopped. Tundra had been so used to the sound that the ending of the rain was deafening. Not only that, but she had been so restless stuck in bed that she immediately woke up. It was plenty dark, but she was used to that too. And whether it was her cabin fever or her renewed confidence in herself, but she got the idea in her head to surprise Buck and wake him up for a change.

She tucked her almost finished rock in a vine sling she made that held it to her back, and started down the tree carefully. Minks could see very well in the dark, but Tundra remembered Buck's echoed warning. The jungle at night was much more dangerous than during the day. She kept both eyes and ears open as much as she could as she made her way through the jungle.

It was a short distance to the hollowed log, but it became longer as Tundra sneaked from one hiding place to another, using all her survival skills to sneak around carefully. She thought she did a very good job of it, even passing a sleeping dinosaur on her way.

_Oh boy, will he be so surprised. I'm going to get him good_, Tundra thought as she found the weasel's home. It was easy to sneak in, morning light just barely making it's way in. Even so, she could see everything very well as she crept to the master bedroom.

"Good morning, Buck!" she shouted as loudly as she could, stomping her feet and clapping her paws. She barely sense it as a dark shadow jumped at her, pushing her to the ground. She fell with a heavy thud, her skull hitting the floor. She cried out from pain, feeling a heavy body on top of her. Something cold and sharp lay against her throat.

Then the fireflies on the ceiling woke up and turned on.

"Angel?"

Tundra could barely see, even in the light. Everything was spinning and whirling, there were colors flashing all over and two weasels stood over her. "Ouch," she moaned and coughed roughly.

"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Buck asked, helping her up into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. How are the two of you? I don't think I've been introduced to your brother," Tundra said, her words slurred.

Buck's face fell as if he couldn't believe her words, then he shook his head. "Get up, Angel. Let's find you a seat and some water to drink."

"Oh, I love water," Tundra said dreamily, holding onto her head as she moved.

Buck helped her into a chair, and then looked back. "No, sweetheart. Everything's fine. It's just Tundra," he called out. Then he sighed. "No, I haven't had the chance to ask. No, nothing's wrong. Just go back to sleep, sweety."

Tundra leaned around him. "Sorry, Mrs. Buck," she called back too, and then laughed sadly. "This was suppose to be a joke on you. I guess it back fired."

Buck got her some water to drink, and some cool moss to put on her head. "At least you're talking normal again," he muttered, looking at her head. "You came all this way in the dark to play a joke on me."

"Yeah, I know. It was stupid," Tundra said with a small smile.

"Yes it was," Buck told her with a nod. "I'm so proud of you, my student."

Tundra laughed, and then moaned when her head hurt from laughing. "I should have known I couldn't get the drop on you. Not even when I get up early."

"Maybe next time, Angel-girl," Buck told her, and then stood up. "Now that you're here, how about some breakfast."

"That sounds great," Tundra said, feeling her empty stomach. As Buck gathered some food, Tundra looked outside as the morning continue to rise. She kept looking, and then tilted her head. "What's with the rutabaga?"

Buck took a peek out, and exclaimed, "Oh, Fernando is here. He's our pool boy."

Tundra gave him an odd look. "Since when did you get a pool?"

"A couple nights ago, Rudy came stomping by," Buck started to explain while sitting down with her, getting her to eat. "It was raining so much, the ground became soft and he left a foot print in the ground, and the rain filled it up. I bet Rudy would be surprised if he knew how close he was to me and didn't know," he finished with a laugh. He stopped abruptly, and then yelled back, "Yes, I know not to speak his name in this house. Yesh." He lowered his head to Tundra and whispered, "She doesn't want me to mention you-know-who anymore."

Tundra rolled her eyes. But she could understand why; sometimes the only thing that got Buck's blood boiling was talking about Rudy. She didn't see why and didn't understand, but who was she to judge him.

However, she didn't get to say anything about Buck's relationship with Rudy when she peered further into the jungle and saw a large indentation in the soft earth that had filled with rain water. Her eyes widened at the size of Rudy's footprint. Her lip trembled a bit as her past image of Rudy was replaced by something even bigger.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear him stomping around and roaring. You must have been pretty sick, Angel," Buck said, looking at her worried. "Are you feeling any better?"

Tundra sniffed a bit. Her nose didn't have any more congestion, but she still had a bit of a cough that wouldn't leave. But she nodded her head. "Ready and waitin', Buck," she told him with a smile.

"Good. Because I've been waitin' to take you on this trip after you get your knife finished," Buck said, and gestured to the rock she had tied up around her waist. "Let me see how far you are."

Tundra took the stone off her makeshift belt, and handed it over. "Trip? Are you taking me home?" she asked with lowered eyebrows. This was the first she's ever heard of it.

"Na, Angel-girl. I just thought I'd take ya a little further around, let you get to know some of the other areas," Buck told her. "There's much more to see than this part of the jungle. I was going to tell you about it earlier, but you got sick, and I didn't want to excite you."

Tundra's interest was peeked, and she nodded.

Buck turned the knife over in his hands. It was double sided, and one side was still dull, but the other felt sharp enough to be used as a tool. She could defend herself with it, but it wasn't entirely reliable.

"Well, it looks like today I'm going to show you how to use this thing," Buck told her, tossing it deftly. "We'll make you a handle and start your training."

For once, Tundra didn't seem very happy. "Learn how to use it? Do you expect me to fight dinosaurs with that?" she asked skeptically. "Because that's ridiculous."

"Of course it is, Angel," Buck said jovially. "But there are many other uses a knife can have, especially in this world."

Tundra thought back on all the times Buck had used his knife. Besides lashing out at the pterodactyl that caught Tundra, he didn't use it as a weapon. She felt no doubt that the weasel knew how to use it as a weapon, not the way he held it against her throat only a moment before, and how he kept it ready when they were in the presence of raptors. And then she thought about what would happen if she was in that same situation alone, without Buck. He had told her she was fast, but could she outrun raptors? She didn't think so. But then again, she probably couldn't hold them back with a stone knife. But it was better than nothing.

"Okay," she said with insecurity. "I guess this will actually make me a wild mink."

Buck laughed at that.

* * *

><p>The weapons training went uneventfully, albeit slowly. Tundra learned to use the knife in many different ways like harvesting her own food, carving wood, climbing and defending herself. With a bone handle attached to the crafted stone, it became a nice weapon for her size. It was probably half the size of Buck's tooth knife, but any bigger might be too heavy for the smaller mink.<p>

After her training was well on it's way, Buck showed her a map of the whole Dinosaur world and where they were going.

"Alright, we're going through the Hills of Desolation, into the Swamps of Agony and our destination is the Lagoon of Lost Souls," Buck told her as he pointed with his finger through the dirt map he drew.

"What's over here?" Tundra asked, looking the map over. It was a bigger place than just the jungle valley she'd only seen. From the map, it looked as if you could travel in a circle around a mass of earth which was the large mountain holding up the ice sky.

"That's the Casim of Death, Plates of Woe and Lava Falls. We won't be going there this time," Buck told her. "It's too crowded this time of year. Now pip-pip. Let's get going. We have a long way to cover."

After kissing his pineapple wife good-bye, the two headed off with only their wits and their knifes, Buck explaining that whatever they'll need they can find anywhere. Tundra had learned from Buck the best way to keep the knife tied by vines to her back, making it easy for her to draw it in case of danger. This trip was a way to teach her how to carry it around and use it in all sorts of situations, and some of those situations would need to have her ready on the fly.

They left early on in the day, and traveled side by side through the jungle. They talked, chatting friendly about things they saw or did. Tundra was always ready with questions about where they were going, and Buck told her mysteriously, like a story teller, but didn't give her much information. She was also loaded with other questions about his adventures and what he would do in certain situations. He readily talked on and on, seeming the most happy when he had someone to talk to.

Then she asked him something that she had wondered about before.

"So, did you have this many wild adventures before you came to dinotopia?" Tundra asked, looking interested.

Buck started looking nervous. "Uh, yeah. I did," was all he said.

Tundra waited for more, and when Buck wouldn't say anything, she prodded. "Like what kind of adventures?"

"Well, not that I think about it, probably not so wild ones. Just little ones," he said off hand. He cleared his throat. "What about you Angel? Me wife says I talk too much, so why don't you tell me what it was like before you feel from the sky?"

It was obvious that Buck wanted to changed the subject, but Tundra didn't know why. Buck always liked to talk, mainly about his adventures. But why keep this a secret? Tundra decided not to press it. It wasn't her business.

Tundra shrugged, looking as if she were told to talk about something boring. "What's to talk about? I never did anything exciting or dangerous or even interesting like you. I've lead a very, very boring life, even compared to a normal boring life. It was dull, dull dull."

"It can't have been that bad," Buck said with a look of disbelief.

Tundra gave him a sidelong look of sadness before continuing on. "Don't underestimate my mother. If it can cause a split end or a hang nail, it's too dangerous. Her greatest goal in life was to make me the perfect daughter and marry me off to who she decided that I should marry. She didn't like me going outside, playing roughly with my siblings or cousins or even going outside. If she saw me right now, she'd have a heart attack. . .or kill me."

Then Tundra smiled. "But me and Frost would always find something to do behind our mother's backs." Tundra then went on to tell about her best friend and cousin, talking about some of their own adventures when they were young. Granted, they were small adventures, mainly pretend, but they were the best of times for her. Then she went on to the rest of her family, telling about her strange grandmother who could predict others' deaths, her grandfather who'd speak his mind and often swore like a sailor in front of more descent minks. She talked about her father, her loving, soft-spoken father who she loved with her whole heart.

"Doesn't sound too bad," Buck said, picturing her more loving family members. "At least it wasn't an all bad life."

"I guess so," Tundra said with a content smile. "What about you? What's your family like?"

Buck lowered his head, looking away. "Gone," he said, then lifted his head. "My parents went out in a flame of glory. It's the way they would have wanted to go. Never kept in touch with anyone else in the family. I guess they're all gone too. Nobody lasts long in my family."

Tundra was disappointed with how little Buck told about his family, but tried to learn more. "Well, what do you remember of them? Did you go on adventures with any of them."

"Er. . .'fraid not, Angel," Buck dodged the question, trying to look casual.

Once again, Tundra was faced with a dead end. What was it that Buck didn't want to talk about? Was talking about his family just too sensitive? But that didn't make sense, he wasn't a sensitive guy. He accepted death as a normal thing. What was it about his life above the ice that he didn't want to talk about? This time, she pressed.

"Oh, really?" Tundra said to him, trying to loosen his tongue a bit. "I'm suppose to believe that you, Mr Buck, who rides on dinosaurs and never goes a day without almost dying, that you had a calm and normal life up in that ice world," Tundra said while pointing up to the ice sky.

"Ah. . .er.. ." Buck mumbled, speechless.

Tundra moved her face into Buck's personal space, eying him carefully. "You're hiding something," she said knowingly, seeing some of the same habits in him as he family when they lied. "What is it you don't want to tell me?" she asked, suspiciously.

"What? It's nothing," Buck said, turning away from her.

"Whatever it's nothing. It's absolutely something," Tundra said with a wicked smile. She grabbed Buck around the neck and tried to hold him in the head lock. It was something Buck did to her when teaching her to fight, but she still wasn't very good at it. "Tell me."

Buck easily broke Tundra's hold on him, stepping easily behind her to grab her arm and twist it. The mink was slow to react, falling to the ground to relieve her arm of the pain.

"There's nothing to tell," Buck told her, surprised by how much darker his voice was than he intended it to be.

"You're lying," Tundra said through the pain. She finally thought what she could do to get out of Buck's hold. She feigned an elbow to his gut, and then reached back with her leg and tripped him. She didn't expect to be tugged back with him as the weasel fell awkwardly. Tundra felt Buck let go of her arm and wrap both arms around her, and could feel the weasel roll to pin her to the ground. She wiggled and struggled to free herself, but she couldn't even get one arm out. In the end, she found herself face to face with the ground, her mouth and eyes closed to prevent dirt from getting in them.

"Say 'Uncle'," Buck told her, pushing her face further into the ground.

"Un-haaa," Tundra mumbled the best she could to the dirt.

"Now say, 'Buck is the greatest'," Buck ordered.

Tundra didn't say anything.

"Say it," Buck demanded. Before he could pressure her more, something wrapped around his good eye, and yanked his face away, pulling his body along for the ride. It wasn't a very strong pull, but enough to surprise him and pull him off the mink.

Once the weight was off of her, Tundra jumped to her feet and unwrapped her tail from Buck's head. She didn't waste any time, but started to run away. If there was one thing she was better at than Buck, it was running. However she didn't get far when she stopped dead in her tracks, a wall of white in front of her.

It took her a while to realize it was fog, but it looked so thick and defined that it looked sinister. It was as if there was an invisible line where the fog couldn't cross. She couldn't even see the ground a few feet away. She took a step back in hesitation. She was so mesmerized by the fog, that she didn't even hear Buck come up from behind.

The weasel noticed the female wasn't running anymore, so he walked softly until he was directly behind her before grabbing her shoulders and yelling.

The mink, already weary from watching the fog, pulled away from the loud noise and ran up a tree as quickly as she could.

Buck starred at the empty space with confusion, then looked up where he saw a blur of reddish-brown go. "What you doin' up there, Angel?" he asked, giving the shaky mink a relax grin.

After Tundra looked around to see that there was nothing dangerous in the area, she glared down at the weasel. But she decided for once to take the joke gracefully, and carefully climbed back down the tree then smoothing down her fur.

This only made Buck chuckle.

"You only startled me. I wasn't scared," Tundra defended herself from Buck's grin, and started off away from the fog.

"H-hm, this way, Angel," Buck said, and gave a bow gesture for Tundra to enter the fog.

Not wanting to give Buck another reason to tease her, Tundra took a deep breath to calm her emotions, and walked into the fog with a stoic face. However, it didn't last long. She soon found herself sidling close to Buck as she looked all around. She didn't know why, there was nothing to see but the fog.

"What is this place?" she asked, wondering why they were in such a gloomy area. She had noticed that the jungle vegetation had thinned out and the ground started to curved upward.

"This is the Hills of Desolation," Buck told her, not changing his swagger.

Tundra remembered the name, and decided it fit well enough. There was nothing more on the ground than some thin course grass and some leafy vines that were everywhere; she tripped over the plants many times as she looked into the fog. The thick fog blocked out most of the sun, making the place feel like it was twilight. And the worse thing about it, something could be a few feet away, and she wouldn't know it.

She hated the place already.

She pricked her ears up to listen, trying to pick up any noises anywhere, but it didn't seem any less noisy than the jungle that was plagued with a continue symphony of insect noises, the occasional bird song or squawk, and the constant lowing of grazing dinosaur's whose calls could carry for miles. But at least in the jungle, one could tell if something was nearby from the rustling of vegetation. There was none of that here.

After a while, Tundra could see differences in the fog, swirls of moisture and places where it wasn't so thick. To her annoyance, Buck seemed to avoid these areas, guiding the two of them into the thickest part of the fog.

"Why are we going this way?" Tundra hissed at him, feeling like she needed to whisper. "It's harder to see over here."

"What do you hear?" Buck asked her, his voice also lowered.

Tundra gave him a strange look, but told him. "Insects and animal calls. Nothing else."

"Don't you hear that deep rumbling?" Buck asked her, and he lowered his paw to the ground.

Tundra wasn't sure what he was talking about. She couldn't hear a rumbling. But she mirrored Buck's actions and felt the ground. It wasn't a sound that one could hear, but more felt through vibrations. She felt it through her entire body. It was a soft, deep thudding, one without any particular rhythm. Some were louder than others.

Tundra closed her eyes so that she could feel the vibrations better.

But then the next vibration was very loud, so much that her ears picked it up. She immediately turned her face toward the vibrations, eyes wide as she tried to pick out what it was. Was it close? She could tell.

"Look there," Buck told her, guiding her sight by pointing.

Tundra followed his claw into the fog. She starred at it for a while, feeling the loud vibrations as she did. After a while, she thought she could see something, and it wasn't just the clouds of mist swirling; it looked like a shadow. A shadow of a dinosaur. She jumped back, seeing that a giant lizard was close by. Her muscles tightened as she prepared to run, waiting until she couldn't stand being in danger any longer to run away, the loser of another game of dinosaur chicken.

But then she felt another set of vibrations coming from behind her, and turned around to see a darker shadow, this one closer and much bigger. She looked all around, starting to distinguish shadow from fog, and felt trapped. She didn't know where she could run, there was danger everywhere.

_Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic_, she tried to calm herself with her thoughts, but instinct was telling her to run.

"Easy, girl," Buck told her, stepping to her side with a calm demeanor. "They can't see us, so all we have to do is avoid them."

Tundra didn't think it was as simple as he said, but they didn't seem to be trying to trample them, even the more aggressive kind. In the jungle, some have charged at her and Buck, even for their small size they thought they were just as dangerous. Or maybe they knew who Buck was. But here, they didn't seem to notice the two small mammals.

"There's so many of them," she said, feeling claustrophobic with so many of the dinosaurs around her.

"Let's go. We don't want to spend the night in these hills," Buck told her, and gently pushed her on their way.

The thought of being there at night made Tundra march away, much faster than their first pace. She knew that the fog would make the night twice as dark, and sleeping on the ground with a dozen blind dinosaurs was a scene for disaster. But after a while, she realized that the day was almost gone, and the sun would quickly set below the high horizon.

"How far until we get out of this place?" Tundra asked, moving into a thicker part of the fog. After a while of watching shadows, she realized the thinner places were where dinosaurs had just walked, the air and moisture moving from the wake of the dinosaur's path.

"It's still quite a ways. We'll have to do some walking after nightfall," Buck told her.

Tundra's hair rose. "Then let's hurry," she told him anxiously, leading the way faster than Buck was.

"It's fine. We can take our time," Buck told her.

"What about your rules, 'Don't travel at night' right?"

"Listen to what I'm sayin'," Buck told her, pointing to his mouth. "It'll be fine." He patted her on the cheek, and ambled forward, taking his time.

Tundra sighed, but didn't say another word. She followed her guide, her eyes and ears moving around quickly for any sign of danger. The shadows and the fog started melting together, a sure sign it was getting darker.. Soon, the only way she could tell they were still around her was from the rumbling of their steps.

"It's almost time," Buck said in a whisper, looking out into the fog.

That's when Tundra suspected something. "Almost time for what?" she asked, trying to see what he was looking at.

Buck stood still, and didn't say anything, just looking over the hill he was on as the fog grew darker and darker.

Tundra started to feel panic overwhelm her again as the gray swallowed everything up into darkness. She grabbed onto Buck's arm to make sure she would be near him the entire time. For a few minutes, they stood in darkness, and Tundra opened her eyes as wide as she could as if that could help her see better.

Then there was a soft glow all around the two. The Hills of Desolation were lit up far better than during the day, a glow radiating from the ground coming from blossoms that were slowly opening up all over the hills.

Tundra knelt down, fear all gone, and looked at the blossoms up close. They were lily shaped, colored in purples, blues and reds, the yellowish glow coming from the center of the flower. They were large for flowers, each petal the length of her tail.

"They're all so big. How did we not step or trip over them?" Tundra asked touching the velvet petals.

"These plants are very strange," Buck told her, taking his knife, and using it to gently lift the flower aside. "The flower stays underground during the day and only emerge at night. Even with the fog, the sun's too bright for them. They're nocturnal flowers. And they only grow here, in the fog. There's always fog here except in the dry seasons."

Tundra kept feeling the soft petals, moving toward the center of the plant where the glow was coming from.

Buck quickly snatched her hand away from the flower. When Tundra gave him a questioning look, he explained, "It's an acid. It glows in the dark to attract insects," he told her, looking down at the plant with a grin. "It's not too dangerous, but it'd melt the fur off your skin and give you an awful rash."

Tundra moved further away from the flower after seeing the darker side of the plant.

Buck used his knife and cut off a large part of the flower's petal. "Here, eat it," he told the mink, handing it to her. "It's safe. Won't hurt you."

Tundra sniffed it cautiously, looking suspiciously at it. Then she cautiously took a bit of it, the petal ripping easily. As she chewed it, her eyes grew bigger. It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted, sweeter than any fruit.

"This is why there are so many dinosaurs here," Buck told her, and gestured into the lit fog. The two could see more defined shadows around them, the shapes bent over flowers of their own. "They love them, the greedy dolts."

Tundra laughed at that, knowing that dinosaurs, for the most part, only cared for their stomachs.

"Come on," Buck said, and ran off into the glowing fog.

Tundra ran after him, working hard to keep up with him. Even with her fast pace, she lost the weasel. She slowed down, looking around for him. A shove came from behind.

"Tag, you're it," Buck shouted at her, and sprint away.

It took Tundra a while to realized what just happened, remembering the childhood game. She rolled her eyes, not wanting to start this game. It was getting late, and she was tired.

"Come on, Buck. Stop it," she said, letting him go out of sight. "Let's make camp. I'm tired."

"Let's call this part of your training," Buck called out to her, his voice coming from a different direction. "See if you can catch me."

Tundra sighed, and felt her feet already dragging through this exercise. "So when I catch you, then we can go," she called out.

"That is _if_ you can catch me," the weasel said with an arrogant laugh.

The mink's ears lay low against her head as she felt insulted by Buck's mocking. She may only be a month new to this world, but a month of Buck's training wasn't a small amount. She dropped down to the ground in a crouch, and moved through the course grass quickly. She knew she wasn't fooling anyone with her bright coat, but she hoped at least the fog would help her a bit.

After a few steps, she lurked around a short hill, keeping close to some of the large blossoms for any kind of cover. She sniff softly, trying to pick up any other scent than the flowers. After a while, she could smell the familiar scent of weasel.

She wasn't a good tracker; Buck often told her that it was more instinct than skill. And if that was the case, her instincts were limited to sensing danger and running away from sensed or imaginary danger. And half of what Buck made her do consisted of ignoring that instinct. However, she was a ready student even if her instincts were still dull from her pampered life. She followed the trail that Buck had left, thinking that he was making it easy for her. A foot print here, a tuft of fur there, and even sometimes she could swear she heard him breathing nearby, but before she found his hiding place, he was gone again.

Tundra was so preoccupied with tracking Buck that she almost didn't realize she was directly under the belly of a dinosaur. She heard a deep snort, and looked up to a brown belly, the leathery skin moving as the creature ate. It took a lot of self-control not to scream or run, but slowly continue what she was doing with one eye on the giant reptile. It wasn't long until she became comfortable doing this, since Buck's trail zigzagged under every single one he could find. She nervously followed the trail, begrudging Buck for doing this to make her get used to the thunder lizards. And she felt even more irked because it worked, grumbling mentally to herself for the harsh treatment she was getting.

After what seemed like forever, she saw a weasel form in the fog. She saw him moving slowly, looking around to sense if she was close. She felt excited that she had gotten close to him without him noticing. And it would only be a few quick leaps to tag him, and then they could make camp. Just when she was about to do that, she rethought herself. That wasn't really fair. He had all the fun making her run around in the damp at night underneath dinosaurs and the like, and she did all the work. Why should he have all the fun?

Instead, she crept closer, spending so much time staying it place. She waited for dinosaurs to make rumbling noises or calls to each other to make a step. Soon she was close enough that she bunched her back legs in ready for one big leap. She jumped, trying to be as quiet as she could. And even with all her might, she guessed that she wasn't sneaky enough.

Tundra wasn't the least surprised but very disappointed when Buck smoothly stepped aside of her attack. But she wasn't finished yet. She pulled her knife out, and stabbed it into the ground to use it to turn around quickly. She smiled when she saw the weasel's surprised face as she tackled into him. And she wasn't done yet.

"Tag, you're it," she yelled at him, and pulled his eye patch over his good eye. She didn't wait to see what Buck would do next, but ran off into the fog without looking behind her shoulder. And she kept running, turning in random directions wherever she chose, jumping over flowers and twisting around dinosaur's feet. After a while, she looked behind her completely believing she had outsmarted the weasel. To her surprise, she could see him not far behind him, close enough to see his expression through the fog.

"Ahhh," she cried out, and ran faster. Without even thinking of what she was doing, she leaped into the air, and grabbed a hold of the loose scaly folds of a stegosaurus's knee, climbing up the dinosaur like it was a tree. Once she was on the dinosaur's back, she hid behind one of the fan-like spikes along the dinosaur's spine. She slowed her breath, and peered around the fan to see where Buck was. She looked by the dinosaur's leg, and there was nothing there. She turned her head back and forth, trying to see him. Then she turned back.

"Hello!" Buck shouted, meeting her nose to nose.

Tundra scream, and swatted at him. Her open paw hit him in the cheek, pushing him against one of the spikes. She ran down the spine, weaving through the fans to escape from the weasel, careful as she went down the tail to the sharper spikes. With another leap, she jumped into the face of a triceratops.

The dinosaur was surprised that its dinner was disturbed by the ball of fur, and it growled and tossed its head.

Once again Tundra was airborne, but this time not by choice. She twisted in the air, making sure she would land paws first. But it wasn't the ground she met. It was the long crest of a hadrosaurid, and she wrapped her paws around it.

The dinosaur looked around once it felt something touch it, but seeing nothing it went back to grazing.

Tundra didn't move any more, but just looked down.

"Come down, Angel-girl," Buck said, moving to the side of the dinosaur.

Tundra shook her head.

"Don't tell me you're scared. I thought you were over this kind of thing?" Buck asked, looking disappointed.

Tundra shook her head again. "I'm not coming down until you promise no more games," she told him.

"You just want to stop because I'm still 'it'," Buck said, hands on his hips.

"Do you promise?" Tundra said, moving higher up the crest.

Buck rolled his eye, but smiled anyway. "Okay, I promise, Angel. On my honor as a weasel. And if that's not good enough, I'm just gonna leave ya behind."

Tundra nodded, and climbed down, patting the dinosaur as she moved down its neck. "Now, if your finished with today's lessons, I'd like to make camp. I'm really tired."

"Yes ma'm," Buck said, shaking his head at her attitude. "The boundary of the Hills aren't far." He moved in a direction.

Tundra looked around. "How can you tell that's the right direction? Aren't you turned around?"

Buck just gave her a secret smile. "That's a trade secret. Maybe next lesson, I'll tell ya."

* * *

><p>The next few days as the opossums learned the ways of the fish, they had to be even more careful with their actions. They had been staying away from the herd far too long and made their sister suspicious of their actions. So each day, they would learn from Diego how to fish, and then take turns being around the whole family while the other brother worked in secret on their next plan.<p>

Finally after many failed attempts, they finally caught a fish on their own. Catching a fish around Diego and then trying to drag it away to their secret hideout would have only brought more questions. But they caught their own fish on their own, and tested their new plan.

They had built from sticks and more crudely made rope, a pole of sorts. They had put the pole into the ice securely, and then tied the fish to the pole then lowered it into the hole in the ice.

Then they waited. And waited. And waited.

And waited some more.

Even for opossums, Crash and Eddie had a hard time waiting, and soon they started to become frustrated with their situation.

"Why aren't they taking the bait?" Eddie shouted, and looked down into the hole.

"It may take some time, dude. The glaciers weren't made in a day," Crash said, but still as irritated as Eddie about waiting.

"Something must be wrong. Maybe we need more rope, put the fish down lower. Maybe they can't see it," Eddie suggested, and grabbed the pole.

"Leave it, dude. We put a couple of mammoth lengths of rope on the end. It should be fine," Crash told his brother, and took the pole away from Eddie to put it back in the ice.

"No, let's put more on it."

"And I said, it's fine."

The two continued to argue, that they didn't seem to notice that their actions caused the fish to move. The scales on the fish shimmered in the light, catching the attention of a pterodactyl. The two opossums were almost too late to let go of the pole before the fish was snatched. The powerful flying dinosaur easily snapped the pole. The wood whipped through the hole, slicing against the ice on its way, leaving a large gash. Crash and Eddie stopped moving and starred in horror at what might have happened to them if they hadn't let go of the pole.

"Hmmm, maybe we need to rethink this a little," Eddie thought out loud.

* * *

><p>They camped at the edge of the hills, Buck not letting them take a step any further. They slept in a hollow log. Even with her fatigue, Tundra had trouble falling asleep. When the wind blew, in brought an awful stench that she couldn't seem to tolerate. When she did fall asleep, it brought a wonderful dream to her.<p>

She was running slowly along the back of a dinosaur. But unlike the other dinosaurs she'd seen, this one was pink and smiling as she crawled on it's back. She laughed as she slide down the dinosaur's tail only to land softly on another one's back. This one was a baby blue, smiling just as brightly.

"Try to catch me, tee hee," she said, looking back at the pink dinosaur.

Buck just grinned at her, his one eye locked on her. "I'm coming, Angel," he called, sliding down the dinosaur's tail dashingly.

Tundra ran further along the blue dinosaur, taking care of where Buck was. She continued to run, jumping from one strangely colored dinosaur to another, calling out to Buck in a teasing flirtatious voice.

"C'mon, don't you want to catch me?" she said, giving him a pouty smile while hiding behind a purple stegosaurus's spiky back.

"Only if the angel will allow me," Buck answered, closing in on her on the stegosaurus.

Tundra weaved in and out of the fans, teasing Buck with a glimpse of her bushy tail or a call. After a while, she lost sight of him, and she looked around confused. No matter where she looked, he couldn't be found.

"Buck?" she called out softly, her voice asking for him to reply.

"I'm right here, Angel," his gruff voice whispered in her ear.

She turned around, and found herself in his arms, their faces close enough to breath in the same air.

"I caught you," he said, smiling down at her. "My Ange. . ."

"Angel. Hey, get up," Buck called to her, whistling sharply. "It's morning."

Tundra woke up with her heart racing, her eyes wide as if she were caught doing something wrong. And she felt as if she did something wrong as well.

"Time's a waistin'. Get your knife and lets move out," Buck said, grabbing her arm and picking her up. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

Tundra felt her cheeks go red as Buck touched her, and pulled away quickly. She immediately felt stupid for acting nervous, and tried to rid her thoughts of the dream. "Okay, where are we going today."

"Through the Swamps of Agony," Buck said in a spooky voice.

"Oh joy," Tundra said sarcastically, and picked up her knife. "Lead on."

As the two marched on, Tundra's thoughts were completely on the terrain as they left the last of the Hills of Desolation and the thick fog. No, her thoughts were on the dream she had the night before. And the longer she thought about them, the more she berated herself.

_What is my subconscious thinking? I can't be having these kind of dreams. This is awful. I can't be having lovey-dovey dreams with Buck. Not only is he my best friend, but he's married. You've gotten yourself in big trouble this time girl. And not only that, but you had such a corny dream. What was with those dinosaurs? There must be something in those flowers I ate, because that's just not normal._

A sharp, stench woke her up from her inner dialogue, and she flinched. "Ugh, what is that awful smell?" she asked, holding a paw up to her nose.

"That, Angel-girl, is the Swamps of Agony. It's where it got it's name," Buck told her, still using his trademark wild grin. He took a deep breath, and the smile disappeared. "Whoa, now that is real agony."

"By any chance, are you the one who named these places?" Tundra asked.

"Honestly, who else could have?" Buck told her obviously.

Tundra didn't answer, but just looked around. The Swamp of Agony looked just like any other swamp. It was filled with stagnant, murky water, bogs, tons of mud, twisted drab trees with sagging branches, dangling gray moss and an atmosphere of despair.

"Charming," Tundra muttered.

That was the last word Tundra spoke as they went through the swamp. Buck seemed unusually quiet as well as he led her from one fallen log to stepping stone. He seemed to know exactly the right path through the swamp to avoid having to wade through most of the muck.

Tundra, for once, envied Buck of his short haired tail. It was easier to keep dry and clean, and the mink had to learn to keep hers up higher than usual. But that didn't prevent her from getting muddy. At times, they had to get their feet dirty, once they were up to their waists in swamp water. And Tundra noticed that even though she was miserable, she didn't feel like complaining. The old her would have said something, but not now. She was proud of herself, even as she felt the grit cling to her.

"Get ready, Angel-girl. We're almost out of the swamp," Buck told her, and readied his knife. "We're almost to the Lagoon of Lost Souls."

Seeing Buck on edge, Tundra took out her own knife and steadied herself for anything.

Buck cut away some of the vegetation of the swamp, and pushed against some bushes. "There it is, the Lagoon of Lost Souls," he said darkly.

Tundra gasped. It was a large lagoon, filled with crystal blue water. The lagoon was fed by a cascading waterfall that fell from one cliff to another in leaps, running through rocks until finally falling into the pool. Flowers filled the trees on either side. These weren't the same kind of trees from the jungle, they looked softer and smaller, large ripe fruit dangling from branches invitingly. It looked just what her ideal paradise looked like.

"It's gorgeous," Tundra said mesmerized, moving forward.

"What are you doing?" Buck hissed at her, and pulled her back. "Do you want to die?"

Tundra backed away in wonder, confused by the lagoon's image. "What's wrong?"

"This place isn't some fun water park. You need to be careful in the Lagoon of Lost Souls," Buck told her, and looked around the area carefully.

Tundra looked around. She had been getting used to seeing the dangers of this world beneath the ice. She listened to her animal senses and headed them when they told her danger was near. And most of the time, they were never wrong. But her internal sensors weren't going off.

"But it looks so. . .inviting," Tundra said taking a deep breath and smelling all the nice smells. "Want to go."

"That's exactly why it's called the Lagoon of Lost Souls. It looks so harmless. But appearances can be deceiving," Buck told her, looking around. He pointed off toward a plant with a red fruit danging temptingly between leaves. "See that plant. Looks completely harmless, right? Looks as if you could reach out and get yourself a meal, right. One tug on those fruit, and you'll be swallowed up by the plant's mouth. Harmless in appearance, but dangerous to touch."

Tundra gave the fruit a frightened look.

"An' that's not all. There's flowers with thorns with poison in them, snakes that'll hug you until your bones crack and spiders big enough to take on even me," Buck continued on. "And that's just some o' the things."

Tundra looked at the place in disgust. "And this is the reason we came all this way? Another lesson to toughen me up."

"Well, more like a test. Ya see, everything in this place is dangerous, except the lagoon," Buck said, pointing toward the water. "It's almost the safest place here."

"No leeches?"

"No."

"Giant piranhas?"

"Not even small piranhas."

"Alligators? Poisonous slugs? Jelly fish? Snapping turtles?"

"Not even an aggressive carp. Just small, lazy fish, and maybe an occasional mosquito if you're unlucky."

"Then the catch is to make it to the water before you die from one thing or another?" Tundra figured it out.

"Precisely. You catch on quick," Buck told her.

Tundra pulled out her knife, and got a good grip. "Well, we came all this way. I guess we better make it worth our time," Tundra said, a weak smile on her lips.

"Try to keep up," Buck growled at her, his wild grin back.

As the weasel took off, Tundra's eyes widened. "Hey, you didn't say that this was going to be a race," she shouted at him, adding a few cusses her grandfather said when he didn't think anyone was listening. _Great, this is all probably the ultimate test or something to see if I can catch up to him with a million things trying to kill me_. But she didn't balk at the challenge and was soon on his heels, all senses keen to any movement.

A python came out of the grass, blocking Tundra from the lagoon and Buck. She stopped and starred at the snake. Then she remembered her grandmother telling her that snakes could hypnotize animals. That was the easiest way to catch a meal. She knew this from her dreams of the future, because that was how Auntie River was going to go. Tundra looked away from the snakes eyes, but not before part of its tail wrapped around her thin body. She tried to pull out of the grip as more of the snake rolled around her, tightening its gripe. Instead, Tundra pulled her knife free, and stabbed down on the snake's tail. It took a few stabs before the python decided she wasn't worth the trouble and slithered away.

By this time Buck was already out of sight, either already at the Lagoon or hidden in the tall grasses. She was on her own as far as she knew.

Buck had raced all the way to the water's edge, grinning the whole way. Along his path, he dodged a few plants with moving vines that tried to drag him into the undergrowth, nearly tripped into a giant spider's trap, and avoided an ant colony that probably could have stripped him to bones in seconds. After all that, he reached the edge of the lagoon, feeling the warm water lapping at his hind paws, and looked back with a grin. However, his grin dropped quickly when there was nobody there to share his triumph.

"Angel?" he called, hoping she wasn't far behind him. He waited a full minute before he became concerned. Did he make a mistake? For once, did he not count on something she couldn't handle? Had his lax teaching caused harm for her? And for the first time, Buck worried for the mink. He felt a dread inside him that he didn't think he could live with. If she was gone, it would be his fault. And he'd be alone again. If she was gone, who would he talk to? Who would be there to listen to his stories and laugh when he said a joke? Who would be there to take the loneliness away?

Suddenly the long grass rustled, and a form covered with blood, spider webs and reddish-brown fur came out. Her face did not look very happy.

"Are you okay?" Buck said, the worry not leaving him when he saw the blood.

"I'm fine," Tundra said moving slowly to the water's edge. "I ran into some trouble. And thank you for waiting for me."

"But the blood. . ." Buck inquired, grabbing her shoulders and looked her over.

Tundra's anger fell when she noticed the concern in Buck's voice. Real worry for her. And perhaps fear? "Ah. . .it's not mine. I ran into a snake."

"A snake?" Buck repeated.

"Yeah, I had to cut it a little to make it go away. And then I ran into a spider's web. I think I killed that one. My knife's covered with nasty green goop. Ew," Tundra said, showing Buck her knife. "Sorry I couldn't keep up. You'd probably expected me to be able to take everything, right? I must need much more training then," Tundra rattled on.

Buck felt relief rush through him, grateful that the unfamiliar feelings he had were now gone. He started with a gruff chuckle and then started laughing.

"I don't think it's funny," Tundra scolded him, pulling away from his grip. "I almost died. I thought today was going to prove my grandma right for once."

Buck finished his laugh, half-listening to her. "You're a real gem, you know that Angel. A real gem."

Tundra moved passed him. "Well, this gem needs a good washing. I feel so gross right now." She first washed the crud off her knife before throwing it into the sand. Then she dove right into the water and started swimming as her species intended her to. Her long body was just right for twisting and twirling through the water, diving down to look at the brightly colored fish that regarded her with curiosity and interest. Only after a while did she look back for Buck.

"Yo, what's keeping you?" she asked, seeing him still in the shallows.

The weasel added his own knife after a cleaning next to hers and dove in to follow after her.

The time passed by quickly as they swam around the lagoon, exploring all over, moving further and further from their weapons. After a while, Tundra noticed something.

"Is the water getting warmer?" she asked, feeling the currents of the water.

Buck lifted his head out of the water and sniffed. "The water is being heated by Lava Falls. We must be very near," he explained when he smelt burning and sulfur. "We should go back."

"Go back? Now?" Tundra repeated, and sniffed the air as well. It was getting dark, but there was still some light left in the sky for over an hour. "I've never seen a volcano before," she said to herself, wondering what it looks like.

"Well, let's get a closer look then," Buck said, swimming on through the water.

The further they went on, the warmer the water became until vapor started rising from it and it was getting harder to breath. They climbed onto black, rough rocks that Buck said were made by lava. They jumped from rock to rock until they made it back to land and started up a sandy incline.

"Shouldn't we go back for our knives?" Tundra asked as she looked around. They were getting further from the water, and remembered all the dangers she went through to get to safety. The plant life was pretty sparse where they were going, but the lava rocks could hide anything.

"We're just going to have a look, and then go back," Buck told her, and led the way up a pile of the porous lava rocks that looked almost like a small mountain to the mink. "You're the one who wanted to see the volcano."

The climb was long and hard on padded paws that were used to only dirt and bark, but they made it to the top. By this time, both were sweating and not just from the exercise. The air was more hot and humid than the jungle. At the peak of the rock pile, they could see a soft orange glow against the black rock.

"There you go, Angel-girl. That's Lava Falls," Buck introduced the sight to the mink.

There were fountains of bubbling lava, pools of it slowly cooling out into black, hot surfaces and spiked mountains that rose up almost to the ice sky.

"Neat," Tundra said, looking down at all of it. However, she was far too occupied by the view, she didn't notice something coming from the side of her.

But Buck did. "Whoa there, boy. Slow down," Buck shouted, and waved his arms at a biped orange-red lizard that was climbing up next to them. The lizard could have easily eaten Buck up in one gulp, but that didn't seem to stop the weasel from calmly talking to it.

Tundra looked at what Buck was shouted at, promptly screamed, and went into hiding in the closest crevice in the rocks.

"It's alright, Angel-girl. It's just a baby," Buck said, and slapped the young T-Rex's nose to stop it from trying to bit him. "He's harmless."

"I don't believe you," Tundra called out to him, but slowly crawled out at a distance. She kept her eyes on the reptile.

"Ah, he just wants to play, don't you ya big oaf. He thinks he's my size," Buck said, and played with the baby carnivore for a while. But then he pushed the huge muzzle away from him. "Come and touch him," he invited Tundra.

"No," Tundra told him staunchly.

"C'mon."

"I said no," Tundra said louder.

"We're not leaving this spot, until you touch him," Buck told her in an authoritative voice. "What's rule number one?"

Tundra sighed a deep sigh that involved her entire body, and carefully approached the baby T-rex. "He's not going to eat me, is he?"

"Probably not. He was sort of raised by a sloth," Buck said, and helped Tundra across the rocks so that she could move faster.

Tundra glanced at Buck, not really sure if that were true or just some sort of joke.

The young T-Rex watched her with excitement, loving the attention from the mammals. He loved the smell and feel of fur since it reminded him of his other mother, although these mammals didn't smell so strongly.

Tundra was all nerves as she came closer, wanting to run any minute that the little T-Rex showed he was going to eat her. She slowly placed her paw on the large nose of the dinosaur, and flinched when it opened its mouth in a big toothy smile.

"There, he isn't so bad, ain't he?" Buck said to Tundra. "I bet we could ride him."

"Okay, I've touched him," Tundra told him, pulling back her paw quickly. "Let's go now."

The T-Rex baby wanted to be petted some more, so he licked the small mink for attention.

"Ahhhhh," Tundra cried out, backing away. "He's tasting me!"

Buck prevented her from escaping. "He's doing no harm. See he likes you."

Tundra gave him a unconvinced look. "Yeah, likes to eat me."

"Trust me," Buck told her. "This little guy wouldn't eat a friend of his mummy. We're perfectly safe."

The T-Rex pushed his large head into Tundra's stomach, nuzzling her somewhat harder than the mink could take.

Tundra gasped from the pressure, but then looked down as the T-Rex who was now closing his eyes and making little chirping noises. "He is a little cute," she admitted, scratching the nose. Then a thought came to her that made her even more nervous. "Shouldn't he be with his mom?"

Buck didn't notice the mink tensing up. "Oh, that's right little guy. You shouldn't be here," Buck said, pushing the little T-Rex away. "You're mum will be very angry if she finds you up here. Go on. Go back," Buck told it. When the T-Rex refuse to move, the weasel picked up a small rock, and threw it. The baby dinosaur wagged its tail and chased after it. "Come on, Angel. Let's go before he realizes that we're gone."

They scrambled back down the rocks carefully. Instead of going back in the water, the two followed the sandy beach back where their knives were.

"It's almost dark," Buck said, looking up at the ice sky. Soon the sun would fall beyond the thin layers of ice, and then there would be no light. "We better hurry and find a safe spot for the night. The lagoon isn't the best place to be after dark."

Tundra nodded, cleaned off her knife of the sand, and strapped it on her back.

Just as they were about to head out, there was a rustle in the bushes. The two long mammals crouched down, ready to fight anything that came out. But they relaxed when a familiar orange nose popped out and an orange tale wagged. Dangerous jaws opened up and dropped a rock far larger than the one Buck had thrown. The two mammals starred at it. Tundra couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"That is so adorable," she said, chuckling.

"It is, but the stupid thing doesn't know its in danger," Buck said, then tried shooing it away by kicking sand at it.

"Maybe we should take him back," Tundra said, but then wished she hadn't said it. She felt bad for the baby, but she felt her inner self quaking in fear at the thought of meeting the mother. But she reached inside herself to push away that fear, and walked to the baby T-Rex. "Come on, fella. Let's get you home."

They didn't get more than five steps when the baby dinosaur spotted movement in the long grass. He swiveled his head around, and took off after the movement. No matter what the two mammals tried, they couldn't stop the young dinosaur from plunging into the vegetation. The T-Rex only stopped when it couldn't see anything moving any more. He looked around confused.

"Come on, go back," Buck said, pulling at the baby's head to turn it around. "Let's get out of here."

Tundra grabbed the baby's small front claw, and pulled, trying to make it move. She could feel her fur itch as she sensed danger all around. Something was going to happen.

From their persuasion, the baby took a few steps back toward the water, willing to be led but interested in its surroundings. They were all so busy trying to get out of the greenery that they didn't see the crawling vines creeping up on them. They softly wrapped around the T-Rex's legs and Tundra's body. The mink noticed it first.

"Buck!" she cried out, jerking away from the vines that continued to wrap around her much like the python. She took her knife, and hacked at them.

The T-Rex panicked and tried to run away from the vines. But it only fell down and became tangled. Even as it tried to bite at the vines, the plants wrapped around his snout and started dragging him away. The only thing it could do now was cry out in terror, calling out at the top of its lungs.

At the sound of his name, Buck had jumped down to see what was happening with Tundra. Seeing the crawling plant grabbing her, he rushed to her air, taking his knife and helping her cut it.

"Don't. I can handle this," Tundra told him. "Help him."

Buck turned to see the baby T-Rex being pulled away on its side, far more vines around him than Tundra. He leaped onto the dinosaur, cutting vines all over. After a while, he realized that for every vine he cut, another would take it's place. He was stopping anything. Looking over the situation, he changed his tactics. He moved to the T-Rex's legs and started freeing them, fighting off more of the vines.

"I could use your help, Angel," he called out, feeling the vines grow stronger, some even starting to wrap around him. He glanced behind him, and saw a couple of flowers that were five times the size of the dinosaur. No wonder it was so strong; more than one plant was pulling and they would end up tearing the three apart for their share of the food. And that was only one way to catch larger prey. "Angel, get over here."

Tundra's head appeared over the dinosaur's head. "Be right there," she said, and cut away the vines holding onto the T-Rex's mouth. "Come on, boy. Bite the plant. Bite it," she told the T-Rex, hoping it would understand.

The dinosaur growled, and started snapping at the vines that tried to wrap around his muzzle again.

Tundra then went over to Buck and together the two of them were able to free the dinosaur's legs. They encouraged the baby onto it's clawed feet, and it pulled and tugged on the remaining vines as the two mammals cut away the remaining vines and fought off more of the invasion. When only a few vines remained, the dinosaur was able to tear away from the plants and ran off toward the beach. Buck managed to pull Tundra onto the T-Rex's back in front of him, and told her to hang on. Then he made a painful grunt, but Tundra wasn't able to ask if he was alright since the dinosaur was running at full speed in a panic. Once they reached the beach, the dinosaur ran into a few inches of the water and stopped, shaking from fear.

"It's alright, sweetie," Tundra calmed the baby down. "We're out of danger. You're okay."

The T-Rex calmed at her voice, and nuzzled against her.

Then the air was filled with a shaking roar.

Tundra froze, cringing to the side of the T-Rex's head as if he could save her. "What was that?"

Buck slide off the baby's back, stumbling in the water. His voice sounded hoarse. "That was mommy T-Rex. She probably heard her baby's cry, and is coming for him," he said, looking toward Lava Falls.

Tundra jumped down into the water. "Then let's go, before she thinks we're hurting her baby," Tundra told him, and pulled on his arm.

"I don't think she'll . . ." Buck muttered. He tried to get off the dinosaur, but fell face first into the water.

Tundra didn't know what to think of Buck's strange behavior until she saw a purple barbed stick embedded below his left shoulder blade, blood swirling in the water. The mink gasped, and was quick to pick up Buck so that his head was out of the water and started pulling him to dry shore. "Buck, are you okay? What is that?" she asked, hoping he would answer. What if he couldn't? What would she do? What if there wasn't anything she could do? What if it was too late now?

"That plant was armed with them," Buck muttered softly as she carried them, his eye barely open. "Poison.. .tipped."

Poison?

Her grandmother had once told her a story about how her brother had once been bitten by a venomous snake. Their uncle was close by, and quickly started sucking on the wound, and spat out the bad blood. Her grandmother's brother lived, but unfortunately the uncle died when he complained that his mouth hurt and was swollen soon after the incident. The uncle had sores in his mouth where the venom had killed him.

Placing Buck softly on the sand with his head to the side, Tundra braced one hand on Buck's opposite shoulder while she grabbed the barb, and yanked it out. Buck shouted in pain when she did so, but didn't thrash out. A bit of blood squirted out when she removed the projectile, but then only oozed. She then put her mouth to the wound and started sucking out the blood and spitting it out. She knew what blood tasted like, but the blood she sucked from the wound had an awful sickening taste that remained on her tongue even after she spat it out to stain the sand. All while doing this, she didn't notice the baby T-Rex watching her or when it suddenly perked up with a wag of its tail as it heard something familiar. After a while of sucking out the bad blood, the rotten taste in Buck's blood seemed to have gone, so she stopped. She checked on Buck's breathing and heart before she went back to the water to wash her mouth out. It wouldn't do any of them any good if she got sick from the poison.

Another roar pierced the air, and Tundra looked up in horror as the earth started to tremble in a beat. A head crested the black rock pile, followed by the enormous body of a full grown T-Rex. The baby called out to his mother, jumping up and down excitedly and looking back on his new friends as if there was nothing for them to be afraid of.

As the beast came closer, every molecule of Tundra's body screamed that she should be running. And in a way, she did. She ran away a few steps, ready to find the nearest hiding place. This wasn't a herbivore, even one that was very angry. This was a creature that killed for a living. But then she remembered Buck. Never before had she had to worry about anyone else but herself. She was the defenseless one, the useless one, the one that had to be protected. But if she ran now, she'd leave her friend lying face down in the sand, dying now, dead soon. In a split second, she turned around and went to Buck. She turned his head toward her to see how he was, but his breathing was shallow and his eye was red. She tried dragging him away, but he was far too heavy for her. Besides, where would they go?

The mother dinosaur was slowing down now that her baby was in sight, and could see the two mammals that were like tiny insects to her. She growled, thinking that these two were the cause of the baby's distress signal. She lowered her head down to them.

Tundra saw the head come closer. She suddenly felt no fear in her. She only knew one thing, she was going to protect Buck, no matter what. She crouched between the T-Rex and the weasel, stone knife ready to use at a moments notice.

The T-Rex mother could smell blood, and after a short growled, she roared.

Tundra was petrified at the gaping mouth of T-Rex, she could see every tooth, every taste bud and as far back as the mouth went to the throat. She could smell the powerful breath of the carnivore, feel the powerful roar ruffle her fur and crash through her ears, and felt spittle fly all around her. Even if she wanted to run, she did not think she could. She just stood there in horror.

Jumping in front of his mother, the baby T-Rex tried to roar back the best his little vocal chords could. As if that were enough communication, the mother dinosaur snorted at the two mammals, and then picked up her baby delicately in her jaws before walking away. Before the two disappeared from sight, the baby dinosaur chirped and waved at the two mammals.

Tundra sagged to the ground, feeling that all her energy had been zapped from her from that one ordeal. Every muscle in her body seemed to fall apart save for the paw that gripped the dagger fiercely. Her brain also stopped, and she just couldn't think beyond what had just happened until she heard a groan. Turning around quickly, she saw Buck roll over onto his back painfully.

"Buck, don't move," she told him, feeling his head. "You're burning up."

Buck opened his eye, and it was even redder than before. "Antidote," he mumbled in a weak voice.

"Antidote? What is it? Where is it at?" Tundra asked quickly, moving closer to him so she could hear.

Buck looked back into the vegetation where they had come from. "The plant. . .it's vines. . .antidote," he whispered.

Tundra looked back into the greenery with terrified eyes. She would have to go back in there to get some of the vines, all by herself. Alone. Without Buck. She had made it through it once, she could do it again. She looked up into the sky. There was only a corner of the sun still up, and the ice sky had turned red. It gave her very little time. She'd have to hurry.

"Don't worry. I'll be back with the antidote," she told Buck. But when she looked down, Buck's eye was closed, and he didn't respond. She stood up with her knife in hand, and looked at the jungle angrily. She was going to do this. She sprinted into the long grass, trying to track the T-Rex's trail back to the plant. The shadows were getting longer and darker, and it was getting harder to see. But it wasn't far into the plant life until she found a large area of the grass flattened from their struggle. Feeling around in the grass, she was able to find pieces of cut vine from the ground. She picked up as much as she could in one paw, and draped a longer piece around her neck. Then she sprinted back to where Buck was. She went so fast, she wasn't even aware of any other dangers but that Buck's life was in peril. Once back on the beach, she knelt down at Buck's side.

She looked at the antidote, and wondered what was to be done with it. "Um . . .," she muttered to herself, not knowing if it had to be consumed or applied to the wound. "Hey, Buck. Do you eat it or what?" When she received no response from the weasel, she had to make a decision. She'd do both. Hopefully one or the other would work. First washed the wound out with water the best she could, clearing away blood and newly formed puss before squeezing the gel-like substance from the vines onto the wound and rubbed it in. Then she crushed some more with her paws and knife into a pulp, and put a bit in Buck's mouth. She could see the weasel grimace as if it didn't taste good, but he chewed it a few times before swallowing. She continued to put more in his mouth until he stopped chewing, seeming to have fallen asleep. His breathing didn't seem so shallow, and when she checked his eye, it wasn't very red anymore. However, he still had a high fever, which she was worried about.

Tundra checked to make sure that the weasel had just fallen asleep and wasn't. . . . She hated to think of the alternative. But she was sure that he wasn't in any danger now, at least from the poison. But she didn't know what to do now. The sunlight was gone, and only her nocturnal vision was enabling her to see in the dark, but that didn't stop some dangers from hiding in the deep shadows. And she wasn't sure how safe the water's edge was at night. She had very few choices to pick from out of what to do next. She could try to find safety back at the swamp, but that would involve carry Buck through the deadly vegetation once again and probably kill them both, or she could stay where she was a hope that whatever was out there would stay away. She then remembered a cluster of rocks that she had seen while swimming; it was one large grey rock rising up from the sand at an angel pointing toward the water with a bunch of smaller grey rocks around it. As she recalled, it looked like better shelter than being out in the open, and it wasn't very far. She eased Buck up, trying to keep him as comfortable as she could, but his weight was an issue with her. Most of him would have to be dragged the entire way. She then picked up her knife and Buck's and the remainder of the vines before dragging her way to the rocks. It took her longer than she expected as she had to be careful of taking Buck over certain stones and finding the right place in the dark. She even dragged Buck a few yards into the water without realizing it, she was so intent on finding the rocks. Finally she made it, almost running into it with her head.

She set Buck down carefully against the sand, using the last of the vines to cover the wound so no sand would get into it. She then felt his forehead, and felt her hand grow warm from his touch. But as she felt his shoulder, she could feel the weasel's body trembling from cold. And it was no wonder, he was still very wet from falling in the water. Without really thinking about it, Tundra started rubbing him all over to warm him up and dry out his fur, sometimes wringing out water from his pelt. After a while, he didn't seem to shiver so much, and continued to sleep.

Tundra could see him a little through the dark, and saw that he was comfortable. She felt his forehead again, her paw lingering on his face for a while to push back some of the fur. She remembered that when she or one of her siblings were sick, her father would sit near their beds and tell them stories. He wasn't very good at it, but he stayed with them for most of the day until they felt better. And before they would go to sleep at night, he would feel their foreheads and kiss them good-night on the cheek.

Tundra bent over Buck, and kissed him on the cheek. "Get better," she whispered to him before she curled up at his side. She rested her head on his chest and moved her tail around him hoping that would keep him warm. As she drifted off to sleep, she didn't bother trying to convince herself that the kiss was "motherly". She was tired of denying her feelings, and decided that they weren't hurting anyone but her as long as she kept them to herself. She slept soundly with her ear pressed to Buck's chest, listening to the strong heartbeat that continued to tell her that he was alright.

End of Chapter 4

* * *

><p>Author: And now for our teaser, brought to you by. . . . .Sid the Sloth.<p>

Sid: (bowing) Thank you, thank you. I know you've all just been dying to see me in this fanficiton. It's such a surprise that I haven't been given a part in it. Since the three movies have been all about me. But now I'm here to entertain all you great fans. What to see how many raspberries I can fit in my mouth?

Author: Pssst. The teaser. Give the teaser.

Sid: (claws on hips) I was just getting to that. Now where did I put that teaser (pats his pelt all over.)

Author: (clears throat) Ah, you left it in your "dressing room". And I'd appreciate that you'd stop eating my house plants and keep my closet clean while you stay there.

Sid: (indignant) I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll be packing up my stuff next month, thank you very much.

Author: (angry and shaking fist off scene) Curse you Manny. Why did you dump him on my?

Sid: (clearing throat excessively) Greetings all you Ice Age fans. Tune in next time for Love Makes You Crazy chapter five to find out whether or not Buck will actually live? Will Tundra be able to take care of him correctly? Or will they both die horrible death? Will mommy T-Rex be able to raise her children in a single parent household? Or will the babies have to go throught therapy because they lack a father figure? Will the opossum twins make it down to the dinosaur land? Or will they decide on a career in music? And will Diego finally find someone who actually love him for who he is? All this will be answered in someone else's fanfics.

Sid: (Thinking) You know, those are some pretty darn good questions. Some I'd like to know. Personally, Diego might have trouble finding someone who understands his moodiness. I've been telling him he needs more greens in his diet. This is getting really good. Hey, Author! Write some more.

Author: See you next chapter (sigh)


	5. Chapter 5:I Never Noticed How Far I Clim

(Author's note: Just to let everyone know, the reason this chapter was so late getting up is because I've had a lot of issues lately, and not because the last chapter had a great cliffhanger. I haven't been able to do much writing because my health has been very bad. But I saw a doctor, and I will be fine. Yay. I have drugs to make me better, and I find I have more energy and am happier. Which means more fanfiction. Oh goody. Well, enjoy.)

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 5: I Never Noticed How Far I Climbed

By Hatashi Kitty AKA Emilou

I can almost see it

That dream I'm dreaming but

There's a voice inside my head sayin,

You'll never reach it,

Every step I'm taking,

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking but I

Got to keep trying

Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes you going to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes they knock me down but

No I'm not breaking

The pain I'm knowing

But these are the moments that

I'm going to remember most yeah

Just got to keep going

And I,

I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on,

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes you going to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

-Written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe; performed by Miley Cyrus

Buck's head felt fuzzy, and not because he was covered in fur. He could feel his thoughts jumbling around like eggs on a moving surface, if he didn't balance them well enough they'd all fall off and break. He reached up to rub his eyes to help them open, feeling a slight head ache that felt like cracks in his skull. Once he opened his eyes, he looked up at a large rock hanging over him, and sand underneath him.

_Where am I_? he wondered, looking around some more. There was water a few feet away, but nothing else. He tried to recall what he was doing the night before, and then he remembered everything. He sat up, and felt a sharp pain in his back. He reached down, and felt matted fur and dried blood around a fresh wound that hadn't scabbed over yet. He recalled his last moments of consciousness, pain, bouncing on the young reptile's back, Tundra's voice and falling into the water, but he wasn't sure of much after that. By all accounts, he figured he should be dead by now. Could Tundra have. . .?

Buck looked around again, this time with a keen eye looking everywhere, but didn't spot the familiar reddish-brown coat. With determination and clenched teeth, he stood up slowly and started walking away from the shelter of the large rock. He didn't get far when he saw the mink.

She was standing on a small rock that was partially underwater, her small stone knife pointed at a spot in the water where her eyes were locked. She balanced on her tiptoes on the rock with her other front paw to steady herself, tail erect to help with the balance. She noticed nothing else but what was in the water. In a flash, she stabbed downward hard. The act of the thrust caused her to go unbalanced and she fell onto her belly while hugging the rock. She didn't seem to notice her slip though as she pulled her knife out of the water and gave a smug smile to a wriggling fish that had been skewered by the sharp stone. She crawled back onto the rock, wetter than before and started cutting the head of the small fish off and gutting it as she saw Buck do. She had a look of hard concentration as the fish kept wriggling in her paws as she tried to dissect it.

"Bash it over a rock, and it'll stop moving," Buck called out to her in a loud voice.

Tundra's attention moved from the fish to Buck faster than lightning, her ears perked up high on her head. "Buck!" she shouted, and ran through the water toward him. She threw her arms around him, fish and knife still in her paws.

"Awk," Buck grunted as she collided with him, doing what he could to stay up right.

"Oh, sorry," Tundra apologized and stepped back. "You need to lie down. You still don't look very well."

Buck didn't say or do anything, but another concerned look from Tundra and he sat down where he was. "I'm fine."

Tundra watched Buck for a while as if to make sure he wasn't going to fall ill again, and then went back to work on her fish. By now, the fish had stopped fighting, and she decapitated it and cleaned it. She then washed it in the water and took it back to Buck. "Here, you should eat something," she told him, handing him the fish.

Buck took it and complied. He felt very hungry all of a sudden, but ate slowly. "How long was I out?"

"Just one day. In a couple of hours, it'll be dark soon. How did you know that the vines were an antidote?" Tundra asked him as she watched him eat.

Buck looked at her confused, but answered. "The poison is enough to kill a sabor and it'll but to sleep anything bigger. But I saw a raptor get hit by the dart, and it chewed through the vines. I followed it, and it was fine. I then experimented on my theory with one of the darts and some vines. I cut myself with the dart and then ate some of the vines. I felt a little sick, but that was all."

Tundra nodded. "But this time you got a larger dose, and you could have. . ." She stopped her sentence. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her eyes were full of concern for him. She actually looked him over a bit, checking his eyes and his wound as he continued to talk.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'll just be tired and sore for a while," Buck said and gave her a small smile which was far from his usual wild face. "Thank you. You saved my life, Angel."

Tundra seemed embarrassed by that. "I didn't really know what to do. If you didn't tell me what the antidote was, I wouldn't have known," Tundra told him in a soft voice.

Buck felt the wound on his back. "I should have been out for a few days from a full dose," he muttered to her. "What else did you do?"

Tundra didn't meet his eyes as she told him how she remembered her grandmother's story and sucked out the poison from his wound. "It sounds so crude, but I've always believed what my grandmother said."

Buck nodded with a smile. "Quick thinking," he told her, and continued to eat the fish.

The two sat there in silence for a long time, starring out at the lagoon. But the silence was disturbed by a soft grumble.

Tundra smiled sheepishly. "I guess I better try catching my own fish while there's still light," she said, and stood up.

Buck watched her wade to the same rock he found her on and she crouched with her knife near the water with concentration. He didn't say anything as she waited for minutes before thrusting her knife into the water, splashing herself in the process. The knife came up empty. After a few more tries, Buck realized Tundra didn't know how to catch a fish. Of all the things he taught her, fishing wasn't one of them. Then he looked down at the bones and tail of the fish he'd just eaten. How long had it taken for her to catch just this one? Did she have anything to eat at all that day? Buck looked back at the mink with new sight, seeing her as the epitome of patience and determination. Part of him, the teacher part, wanted to go out there and help her, tell her what she was doing wrong and show her; it would have been easy for him to snatch up a fish for her to eat. But another part of him just watched as she learned by herself, let her do this on her own.

Tundra eventually left the rock since she was getting wet anyway, and waded in to her waist. She crouched down in the water, her nose barely hovering over the water as she watched the fish swim around her. After a few thrashes in the water, she finally set her knife aside and went at it with her bare paws. The light had sunk down, and shadows made it hard for her to see, but she could still see a few flashes of scales. In the end, she caught a small fish that she managed to keep between her paws (many others had slipped away in her grasp), and take it to shore where she hit its head against a rock to kill it as Buck had told her to. She proudly gutted her fish before sitting down to eat it.

"I caught this one a lot faster than that other one," she said proudly, and ate it ravenously.

This only confirmed Buck's thinking that she hadn't eaten all day. And if that were true, she had hardly anything to eat since the fish was less than half the size of the one Buck ate. But she didn't say anything about it. There was a brightness about her even though the situation looked bleak. In his current condition, Buck doubted he could do anything.

Tundra yawned loudly near the end of her meal, but shook it off.

"Tired?" Buck asked, feeling tired himself even though he slept for almost a day.

Tundra nodded and finished off the fish. She laughed. "And its not even dark yet."

"You should get some sleep," Buck told her, staring out across the lagoon that was started to turn orange and red from the sun.

Tundra yawned again. "Okay, but I want to look at your back first," she told him, and crawled behind him. She pushed on the weasel's shoulders so that she could get a better look at the wound in the fading light. "I think I should put more of the vines on it. It seems to be helping it." She went to the water's edge and pulled out a wet vine. When Buck gave her a strange look, she just shrugged her shoulders with a small smile. "The ones I had wilted, so I went back for more. To keep them fresh, I put them in the water. I just hope it doesn't dilute them." She knelt back down behind Buck, and squeeze the vine's juices out onto the wound.

Buck sucked in air quickly as the plant juices touched his wound.

"Sorry," Tundra mumbled, and softly rubbed the juices into the sore while clearing away some sand. "There, that should do it."

Buck twitched his ears as he heard the worry in the mink's voice. He couldn't see the damage on his back, so he couldn't tell how bad it was. But knowing Tundra, she wouldn't know what was bad and what was worse, so she'd guess the worse. To show her that he wasn't as hurt as she thought he was, Buck stood up and stretched lazily. He winced inwardly as the raw flesh on his back was pulled tight. "Well, I guess I'll get some sleep too," he told her.

Tundra nodded and followed him closely in case he needed help. She didn't insist on assisting him.

The beach rose at a small incline, but even that cause Buck to tire. He had to work hard to move his paws through the sand. He wanted to collapse on the sand, but instead, he slowly lowered himself down onto the sand, laying on his good side.

Once Tundra saw that he was laying down and looking alright, she went a few feet away to curl up on the sand. The last of the sun's light blinked out of sight, and about that time, Tundra was fast asleep.

Buck, while physically tired, couldn't sleep because of what was on his mind. Never would he had expected to be put in a situation where he would be taken care of by Tundra. It wasn't that he didn't think she couldn't do it, but he always thought that he'd always be able to take care of himself. And her. Perhaps it was too much self-confidence, but he thought he was almost untouchable. He could take care of himself, even when he was young. But then this happened, and now he felt as if his armor wasn't as complete as he thought it was. As dependent as Tundra was on him, for once it turned completely around. And as he thought back on how well Tundra learned by doing, it wouldn't be long before she'd have no more use for him. While that thought should have made him happy as a teacher, it didn't. It left him feeling empty thinking that Tundra might be going back above the ice sky.

He tried to shake it off. He had lived alone for so long, why would being alone again bother him? He was used to the quiet and having conversations to himself. He should be able to go back to it, shouldn't he? He was Buck. He didn't need anybody. Rudy didn't count.

Buck's eyes went back to Tundra, his eyes picking out some of her features in the dark. She was on her side facing him, tail tucked around her. Her small paws pulled in under her chin and an ear flickering every once in a while from an insect that was trying to land on her.

As Buck thought more and more about Tundra, he was able to argue that she still had a long way to go. She still couldn't fish and use her knife. She could barely fight, with or without a weapon. She still hadn't met Rudy. It would still be quite a long time befor the timid mammal was ready to leave. This reassurance was enough to make his eyelids droop, and he fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

><p>It had almost been two months since the tragic day of learning that her cousin was never be coming back, and Frost still felt the guilt of aiding in Tundra's disappearance. Her aunt wasn't talking to her, and she ignored the rest of her family. It had been a rough two months, and she just couldn't seem to get over her cousins death.<p>

There had been a time when she'd just lay around in depression and grief, crying more than she'd like anyone to see her do. Then there was a time when she stopped eating until her brothers pulled her out of her funk by having a heart to heart with her. And by heart to heart, they meant wrestling with her until she fought back. That made her sit up and look at life once more. She started going out on walks, eating more and just trying to live. There was even a hint of a smile on her during that time. Then she went through a phase where she was especially glad to be alive, and thought it was her duty to help those in need. She went around and tried to help others in time of need. That is until she realized how big of jerks the rest of the world was, and then things returned to normal.

As normal as could be without her best friend.

The only thing that got her through those hard times was the tender-hearted she-mammoth that came to visit her every now and then. Frost never expected to see Ellie ever again, but the mammoth seemed to have a sixth sense when Frost needed someone to talk to. It was a blessing in disguise the day she ran into Ellie.

On one of her walks, she just happened to pass by the hole that Ellie and she had discovered long ago. She didn't realize she was going in that direction since she was deep in thought. Most of the time, she took care not to go in that direction, but for some reason her feet carried her there.

And to her surprise, she wasn't alone. At first, she started to veer away from the two opossums, until she recognized them.

"Hey, I know you two," she said, narrowing her eyes at them suspiciously. "You're Crash and Eddie, Ellie's brothers."

Crash and Eddie also looked surprise to see her at the hole, but did not recognize her.

"And who are you?" Crash asked as he hide the rope. He did this out of habit more than he thought the mink would be mad at him.

"It's been almost two months. I'm the cousin of that mink that fell. . .in there," she finished softly as she glanced in the hole.

"Oh yeah," Eddie said with more enthusiasm than he should. "Yeah, now I remember. What was your cousin's name again?"

"Tundra," Frost told them. "And I'm Frost, since you wouldn't have remembered.

"How's it going?" Crash said with a wave.

"Okay, I guess. It's still hard for me to think that she's gone," Frost said softly, trying not to look at the hole. Then she looked at the striped opossums over and grew suspicious. "What are you two doing here? That hole is dangerous. It should be covered up."

"No, it's okay. We know what we're doing," Crash told her with raised paws.

"I don't believe you," Frost told them, paws on hips. "And I don't want to have to go to Ellie and tell her that her stupid brothers died doing something stupid."

"Please don't tell Ellie. We'll tell you what we're doing," Eddie pleaded, looking worried.

Frost looked at their feet and saw sticks, crudely made rope and a large fish behind them, and gave them a strange look. "Okay, I'll bite. What are you doing?" she asked, her curiosity peeked.

"Look down there," Crash told her, and the two opossums lay on their stomachs to look down the hole.

It took Frost a while to do the same, her stomach feeling queasy as the image of Tundra falling to her death kept coming to her mind. Once she was laying next to Eddie, she looked down. Two months ago, all she could see was gray mist, and she mistook it for being a hole in a glacier. But this time, the gray mist wasn't so thick, and she could see below it a whole other world with vegetation, mountains, rivers and lakes. Her eyes widened as her mind tried to make sense of it.

"Holy crap, what is that?" she asked, and pushed herself back. She felt a little freaked out by the sight.

"Okay, this may sound strange, but it's a land of dinosaurs," Eddie explained.

"Dinosaurs?" Frost asked, skepticism all over her tone. "You mean like giant lizards with the big, sharp teeth and spikes?"

"Sure."

"You bet."

"Like that stupid rumor of a T-Rex attacking a bunch of folks a couple months back?" Frost tried again.

"That wasn't a rumor."

"We were there."

"No way," Frost said, not believing a bit of it. "This is some sort of sick joke, right?"

"No joke," Crash told her, his face serious. "We've been down there before."

"Yeah, we can prove it too," Eddie told her, and the two opossums lowered the fish into the hole.

The three watched and in a matter of minutes, a pterodactyl came by and snatched the fish from the air, taking the rope with it.

Frost screamed at the sight of the dinosaur, and leaped back. She calmed her running heart for a few seconds before she told the opossums, "I believe you now. But what are you doing?"

"We're trying to get back in there," Eddie told her with a happy grin.

"Are you two crazy? Those are dinosaurs," Frost yelled at them. "You'll be killed."

"We have a friend down there," Crash told her. "He's lived down there for a long time, so he knows how to survive. We're going to find him, so we'll be okay."

Frost shook her head. "But that's still nuts. And how are you going to get down there?"

"We're trying to figure that out. We think its possible," Eddie said, and started gathering their remaining supplies. "We've been feeding the pterodactyls for a few weeks, so they hang around the area. We're trying to catch one so we can ride it down."

Frost gave them a strange look. "That's so ridiculous. I'm going to tell Ellie. I'm not going to have your deaths on my conscious too."

"Wait," Crash called to her, and grabbed her paw. "Please, for the first time, we're actually thinking things through. We're not being stupid about this."

"That's a matter of opinion," Frost snapped at him, and pulled her paw away.

"And we think your cousin could still be alive," Eddie told the white mink.

That stopped Frost in mid-step.

"What?" she asked, looking completely vulnerable and confused. She hated feeling that way, but she couldn't help it.

"We think it's possible," Crash said, a serious look on his face. "Whatever falls through this hole, the pterodactyls will catch. It's very likely that one caught your cousin."

"And its likely that she could have escaped or Buck found her," Eddie added.

"Who's Buck?" Frost asked, her full attention on the opossums.

"Buck is the coolest mammal alive. He can do anything," Eddie told Frost.

"We're pretty sure that Buck has saved your cousin," Crash told her. "He seems to have the knack of saving others."

Frost looked back and forth at the two, studying them carefully. "And you really think that Tundra could be alive, that this Buck has really saved her?"

"Most likely."

"Probably."

"Maybe."

"It's best not to be too hopeful."

Frost was silent.

"But that's why we don't want anyone to know. In case we were wrong," Crash told her. "It doesn't hurt to check."

"Well, it might hurt us," Eddie added. "But we're willing to take the risks."

Frost looked thoughtful and then opened her mouth. "What can I do to help?"

* * *

><p>The two stayed on that beach a few more days. Although Buck tried to persuade Tundra that he was fit enough to make the trip back, the mink proved stern in the fact that he wasn't going anywhere until he was much better. As the days went on, Tundra had to be more forceful in her discipline with the weasel. Tundra was suspicious that while the weasel complained about being taken care of that he was secretly pleased with the attention.<p>

While the two were kept in one spot, Tundra learned many things. She occasionally had to breach the vegetation for food since it took her so long to catch a fish. She was able to identify the edible fruits from the poisonous ones, find roots and seeds that they could eat. She also started to learn how to carve things out of wood with her knife after she spotted Buck making a dinosaur out of a piece of driftwood. She wasn't very good at it, and quit after producing a three legged rabbit and a headless bird.

On the third day, Buck was determined to do something besides lay around like a sunning toad. After getting an okay from Tundra that he could swim leisurely, he ran into the water for the first exercise in days. When he came back from a few laps, and a quick soak in the heated water by Lava Falls, he found Tundra once again in the water trying to catch a fish. She kept still watching the water, sometimes sputtering as she lowered her face too close and started breathing in water. Other times she was too impatient to wait for the fish to come to her, and let a slippery one slide through her claws. Finally she yelled in frustration, kicking at the water to scatter the fish.

Buck chuckled, letting the mink know he had been watching her.

Tundra didn't like being teased, and just walked away from the weasel to try her technique somewhere else.

Unlike the last time, Buck decided this time the mink needed some guidance. "Let's try over by the rocks," Buck told her moving toward a few stones peeking through the surface.

Tundra grumbled a bit, but did as he said, and moved next to him. The water was deeper there, and she didn't have to bend her back as much. There did seem to be more fish there, and bigger ones. She waited until one came within reach, and snatched at it. She barely felt the scales when it swam away quickly. She cursed.

"You need to be patient. Take your time," Buck told her, and moved right behind her mirroring her own body so that he could put his paws over hers. "Don't move right away when one gets close. Let it stay there a while and get used to you. Let it forget, they have very small brains."

A very large fish swam closer, eating particles off the sand as it swam closer, dodging one way then another lazily.

"Let it come to you," Buck whispered in Tundra's ear as if the fish could hear.

Tundra's concentration was on the fish, and tried not to tremble from the cold water or from Buck's proximity. She kept her mind on the fish instead of other things, watching as the silvery scales flashed in the light. It swam right in between her paws.

"Move slowly at first. Just close enough," Buck whispered, and he could feel Tundra's excitement where his body touched hers. He kept his eye on the fish too, helping to move Tundra's paws closer. "Closer. When you move, aim for a spot beyond the head; it can move faster than you can. And when you spring your trap, don't be afraid to dig your claws into it. Do it. Now!"

Tundra clapped her paws together, claws first into the flesh. She dug into the fish's belly, ignoring the feel of the scales under her claws and overpowering the fish's thrashing. She quickly picked it up out of the water, elbowing Buck in the process and ran out of the water to put it on land. Without anywhere for the fish to go, she was able to kill it and start to gut it. It was only then that she looked up to where Buck was. He was just barely coming out of the water, two more fish just as big in his two paws.

"Show off," Tundra told him with a smile. She finish cleaning the fish and her knife, and set them on a leaf to keep the sand off them. She watched as Buck put his two fish next to hers and wadded back into the water to clean off his tooth knife. As she watched, a sneaky grin crossed the mink's lips. She sneaked into the water quietly, as if she were stalking prey. She used everything she'd learn to be as quiet as possible. Even in the water, she didn't make a sound. However, her intentions weren't as dastardly as her actions suggested. When she was closer, she gracefully pushed Buck into the water.

The weasel barely had time to brace himself, which didn't stop him from getting soaked from head to tail. He glanced behind him to see Tundra looking proud of her sneaky self. "You know that you're in trouble, now," he muttered to the mink.

Tundra looked down and saw a wild look on the weasel's face. It was one he got whenever he came upon a challenge. She took a step back. "Now, Buck, remember you're injured," she reminded him taking a step back. She then bolted away, running along the beach. "You shouldn't strain yourself," she shouted back at her friend.

"You need to learn to finish what you start, Angel," Buck told her, racing after her.

Tundra screamed as Buck came too close to her, and she dodged in a sharp corner, leaving the water onto the beach. She outran the weasel in a circle before returning to the water. She took a few long strides before diving into the water swimming into the deep to escape Buck.

Buck followed close behind, taking it easy to not strain his sore. However it was difficult when he dove into the water; swimming used the muscles in his back. But by Tundra's look under water, she was surprised he followed her into the deep. But she sped away, her lithe body skimming through the water. Because of his sore, he couldn't out swim her so he tried trapping her between rocks or hiding in water plant life to ambush her. However, his tactics didn't make her cautious, because she started teasing him during their chase. Whenever he took time to catch his breath, she seemed to pop out of nowhere and splash him or tug on his tail. In his frustration, he would often yell and mildly curse at her. She'd only laugh and tell him that he shouldn't dish it out if he couldn't take it. Only then did he regret his teasing her in the past. However, he wasn't finished with all his tricks.

Tundra moved to the surface for a breath of air, breathing fast and heavily as she looked around the water. There was no sign of Buck. She took a deep breath and dove under the water. The clear liquid allowed her to see far enough, but no matter where she looked there was no sign of Buck. She cautiously made her way past some water weeds, waiting for him to grab at her, but there was nothing. She circled a few rocks, but he wasn't there. She rose to the surface again, and looked along the beach wondering if he had become tired and went to rest. He wasn't there either. She swam toward shore until she had something to stand on, and moved where she could get more height. Still there was no sign of him. Only then did she become concern, and moved further onto shore to look more. Just when she was about to jump back into the water to try to find him, something moved just beyond her peripheral vision. She screamed as a dark green monster approached her.

The slimy creature jumped at her, barreling into her and knocking her onto her back. She fought back at the creature, tearing at its tendrils of slimy locks. She pushed at the creature, then finally lifted her knee hard into the middle of the creature. It grunted, and put more weight on her. As she lifted her fists to fight back some more, it grabbed her wrists and held them down. She readied another assault on the creature with her legs, pulling more and more of the creature away.

"Angel, Angel. Stop, stop stop," Buck's voice pleaded to her.

Tundra opened her eyes wide as she stopped and finally got a really good look at the monster. It wasn't hard to see Buck through a few floppy locks of water weed on his head and back. She at first felt relieved, but the grew angry. "You stupid head. You scared me," she shouted at him, and punched him in the ribs.

Buck gasped, and lost his strength in his arms as Tundra's assault hit a tender spot. He couldn't help as his full weight fell on the mink as he held onto his ribs.

Tundra realized she had hurt Buck, and grabbed his shoulders as he held onto his ribs. "Are you okay, Buck? I didn't think I hit you that hard," she told him, trying to see around his heavy form to see what was hurting him. However her concern lessened as she head Buck chuckle where his head rest on her shoulder.

"You're getting too good, Angel-girl," Buck told her, and lifted himself with one arm while holding onto his ribs with another. "I don't even think I need to teach you to fight. You could take on Rudy by yourself."

Tundra dropped her head back, the water not deep enough for her to submerge. She felt relieved that Buck was okay, and then started to laugh. "Yeah, sure. Bring him on," she said, still chuckling. "He should be a heck of a lot easier than you."

"Ow," Buck said when she pushed on him. "Easy, I'm injured."

"Don't you play the injured card on me, you weasel," Tundra told him, lifting her head with an askew smile. "I gave you a chance to opt out before and you didn't take it."

"Maybe I should start listenin' to you from now on," Buck muttered as he looked down, giving her a matching smile.

Their faces were very close together now that they could talk to each other in hushed voices, neither one caring about their close proximity. Tundra could feel her heart beating swiftly, not even stopping to speculate if it was because of the scare she had or that Buck's body was pressed against her and wasn't giving any sign that he was moving away. She could feel his heart beating quickly from where her paws lay on his chest where she helped hold him up. The two had stopped talking, and just looked at each other. Without even knowing it, their faces gravitated to each other. Tundra half closed her eyes.

"Persimmons," Buck muttered.

"Hmmm," Tundra murmured, shaking her head as if she were dreaming.

Buck lifted his head up a bit. "I promised I'd bring home some persimmons back to my wife," he said, and sat up. He looked off toward the swamp as if something were there. "There's some growing near the swamp. I should get some."

Tundra helped the weasel into a sitting position so that he wasn't hurting. She felt her checks grow hot from what had happened, but noticed Buck didn't seem embarrassed. She wouldn't put it past him if he thought of her as another male. Probably. "She's probably worrying about you by now," she said, thinking of the pineapple. "We could probably start traveling tomorrow."

"Yeah," Buck said softly, still sitting in the water. "If we get up early, we could probably travel through part of the Hills by night, and be home the next day."

Tundra nodded, and stood up. She forced herself to smile down at Buck and offer her paw to him. "I'm hungry. How about you?" she told him, and slowly went off to get the fish.

* * *

><p><em>"Maybe I should start listenin' to you from now on," Buck muttered in a deep voice, looking down at her with a crooked smile.<em>

_ Their faces leaned closer together, gravitating like two intractable objects. Tundra could feel her heart thumping against her chest and adrenaline in her system, but in a completely different way than when she's afraid. Her paws were on Buck's chest, she could feel his raw muscles from under his fur. His arms wrapped around her. The water softly lapped around them. She tilted her head and closed her eyes. Their lips were so close together._

_ Then there was a noise, as if someone was clearing their throat._

_ As one, the two mammals turned their heads to the side and saw the shocked and angry form of a pineapple._

_ Tundra felt her face burning up from immense shame and guilt. She slide away from Buck just as the weasel jumped away from her._

_ "Wait, it isn't what you think?" Buck called out, standing up._

_ The pineapple just shook itself in disappointment, turned around and started to leave._

_ Buck jumped to his feet and started running after her, shouting for her to wait._

Then Tundra woke up with a start, knowing at once that it had been a dream but her feelings of shame and guilt stayed with her. She looked around as if Buck's wife were nearby, and shakily stood up. She left the lee of the stone the two mammals had been using for shelter for days into the bit of sunlight that had barely peeked through the ice sky. She found a rock and sat back on her feet while looking over the water to think.

_What am I doing?_ she asked herself, putting her paws over her face. _I'm having fantasies about a married male, and what's worse that in my fantasies I get caught by his wife. What am I doing? What am I going to do?_

Without knowing it, Tundra started gesturing wildly that corresponded with her thoughts, grabbing her fur, waving her arms and tilting her head back in self pity.

_Oh no, what if. . .What if I'm going to turn into a . . . *gasp*. . .a home-wrecker_, she thought to herself in horror. _Ahhhh, I'm a home-wrecking hussie. I'm just like my mom's family. No, I'm worse than my mother._

"Are you okay there, Angel?"

Tundra turned around in abject shock.

Buck was standing a few feet away, looking at her with a tilted head as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Wha. . .Yeah. I'm fine," Tundra said and straightened up.

"Well, we should head out now. Are you ready?" Buck asked, fingering his knife.

"Um, sure. Let me just get my knife," Tundra told him, and retrieved her stone dagger from near the large rock.

Once she returned, the two went through the small strip of deadly vegetation. It gave them a little trouble, but Tundra had learned quickly what to avoid. Then it was through the swamp again. But they didn't take the easy track that they had taken before. Buck lead them into a messy and smelly part of the swamp, wading through chest deep muck and goop. Buck led them to a part of the swamp that actually had dry firm land. And in the middle of this land grew a few plants of persimmons.

"What does she want with persimmons?" Tundra asked as she help Buck harvest the ripe ones.

Buck shrugged. "Who knows. She's always sending me out to get this and that. Sometimes things that aren't even in season. She says she just gets cravings."

When Tundra heard this, a thought came to mind. She laughed to herself at how stupid it sounded.

"What?" Buck asked.

"Nothing."

"No, what was that?" Buck persisted.

"Oh, I just thought it sounds a lot like she's pregnant," she told him with a snort of laughter. However, she became solemn faced as she saw Buck stiffen up at her words.

"Pregnant?" Buck repeated with a long face.

"It just sounds like it. I'm just speculating. It may not be that she's pregnant," Tundra back wheeled quickly.

"But it would explain everything," Buck said as he thought back. "These cravings, her mood swings, it all makes sense."

Tundra didn't like to judge people on what they did or thought; that was something her family did and she tried to be more open-minded with others. However, at this point, she almost started to explain that a pineapple couldn't get pregnant. Almost.

Buck then jumped up and let out a loud whoop. "That means I'm going to be a father," he told Tundra excitedly.

The mink looked surprised at Buck's reaction. She smiled awkwardly at his enthusiasm at being a father, never thinking him to be a family kind of guy. But her smile wasn't complete sincere. She felt her heart ache as she thought that this wasn't going to end well. Eventually, Buck was going to be disappointed. She tried to calm things down a bit so that it wouldn't be so bad.

"You're jumping the gun, silly," she told him, shaking a finger at him. "Don't you think if she was, she'd have told you already?"

Buck stopped jumping around, and looked at her. "Well, we haven't been talking a lot. Maybe she was waiting for the right moment."

"And maybe there's nothing to tell. Don't get your hopes up," Tundra told him.

Buck's spirit dampened, and he wiggled his whiskers. "But. . ."

"Ah-ah-aaaah, what's rule number one?" Tundra asked and opened her mouth wide in a frozen smile while holding up one digit.

Buck chuckled at her impression of him. "Okay, you're right, Angel. So let's hurry home to see who's right." He quickly tied the persimmons to his back, and started wadding into the sludge again.

After this, Buck made Tundra take point for once, forcing her to remember what direction they should be going and to use her knife to cut a new path for them. At times, she nearly led them into deeper water. But she sense something in the water, the sound of ripples quietly moving across the water just barely picked up by her sharp ears. She looked around, and saw a few suspicious logs that had eyes. She quickly found a way around them, and received praise from Buck which made her carry herself taller for a while. It wasn't long until they made it through the swamp, caked in dried muck, but safe and well. Now they were at the Hills of Desolation again, the suffocating mist all around them.

The first time through the hills, it was a bit daunting. But now, Tundra didn't think of it so much, not with the thought of hundreds of glowing flowers blooming and lighting it up. However, it would still be a few hours before that would happen.

"So, you're going to teach me how to fight with a knife?" Tundra asked Buck, trying to think of something to say to the weasel.

"Yeah, sure. You want to start now?"

"Sure."

As they walked, Buck showed Tundra a few of the basic moves with a knife. Blocking, paring, a few offensive moves, but mainly how to read an opponent. This took up most of Buck's lecture since it was hard to demonstrate much with their walking. After a while, Buck had Tundra practice as they moved, each step a different kind of move. It slowed them down a bit, but neither noticed.

"It's not a sword. You've listened to too many snow pirate stories," Buck told her after stopping her practice. "You have a little dagger, which means your opponent will most likely have a longer reach. You want to get as close as possible, it gives you a better advantage," Buck told her, and made her run through another drill.

Tundra slashed her stone dagger through the air again, feeling bold in her training for once but wasn't sure how bold she'd be in a real fight. She tried to imagine an opponent for herself to fight. She went through the moves, imagining getting closer to the invisible fighter. "How was that, Buck?" she asked. But she didn't get an answer. She looked back at the weasel, and saw him standing completely still, looking off into the fog.

"Buck?"

"Shhhhhh," he shushed her, his ears moving around. "Do you hear that?"

Tundra pricked her ears up. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," Buck said, his face hard. "There should be dozens of dinosaurs roamin' around here."

Tundra realized that there were no vibrations coming from the ground of dinosaurs walking around. And as Buck pointed out, it was strangely quiet. She would not have thought anything of the quiet, but she could feel the tension radiating from Buck, and she started getting a bad feeling in her stomach. Not knowing what else to do, she inched closer to the weasel.

Faster than anything she'd ever seen before, Buck grabbed her and jumped to the side. Only a few seconds after the moved, the ground shook. Dirt, grass and pebbles showered down on the two mammals.

That's when Tundra was given her first sight of the infamous, Rudy. His gigantic snout was buried into the ground exactly where the two were standing moments ago, teeth longer than her arm digging into earth. It quickly moved back up into the air, showing the full height of the dominant carnivore in the valley of the dinosaurs. The baryonyx crunched up the mulch a few times before it spat it out, then it turned its eyes back onto the ground.

Buck was already on his feet, knife in hand and facing Rudy. He had his demonic smile on, just for Rudy.

Tundra was beside herself at the sight of the pale scaled dinosaur. Never could she imagine something so big and with so many teeth. Rudy wasn't much taller than the mother T-Rex she'd seen, but he was thicker, broader and had a much bigger mouth. He could easily fit three mammoths in his large maw. Her eyes were locked on the beast as it threw back it's large head and roared, the sound causing her bones to vibrate. Whether it was because she was so used to being afraid, or standing her ground in ultimate chicken or that she was so petrified she was paralyzed, she did not move from her crouch.

"Run. Hurry, run," she heard a voice yell, but it didn't register inside her to listen. She had heard herself telling her those same words over and over again, and had learned to ignore them for Buck's training.

"Blast it, Tundra. Run!" Buck shouted at her.

At the sound of her name, Tundra broke out of her trance and looked at Buck. This was the first time he had ordered her to run away from something. It scared her even more. She didn't waste a second more, but started sprinting on all four paws away from Rudy. If she had looked behind her, she would have seen Rudy dive down once more after her fleeing form and Buck jumping at him with his tooth knife. But she could do nothing more than run, animal instinct not allowing any other thought in her tiny mink brain.

She was surprised when she saw jungle vegetation after a while. She had made it back to the edge of the jungle, not knowing how long she'd been running. It must have been a very long time for she could feel her body's fatigue and her lungs heave for breath. Never had she put more energy into a task. She panted for a while, leaning against a tree, feeling safe at the jungle's edge. But then she looked around.

She had expected Buck to follow after her, that he'd be right on her heels. She wasn't that much faster than him. But he wasn't there, nor nearby. She'd be able to hear him running. He was not here. Her conclusion was that he must have led Rudy away from her. She knew that Buck loved to run and trick the dinosaur; they were rivals of sort. And if this happened at a different time, Tundra wouldn't worry about the relentless weasel. But Buck had almost died a few days ago, he was still healing. He had tried to hide it, but he had labored under the burden of the persimmons. How could he stand against Rudy?

But what could Tundra do? She was inexperienced, unskilled and scared. How could she help? She'd just be in the way, wouldn't she?

But what was the point of going through Buck's training if not for these kind of situations. If she just ran from everything, how was she supposed to become experienced? What she thought before, that was the old her. She knew she wasn't unskilled anymore. Sure, she was inexperienced with Rudy, but she had fought off a snake, caught her own fish and stood up against a T-Rex. And she was the apprentice of Buck. That had to speak of something. And as for being scared. . .well, she was still scared. But that didn't mean she couldn't be brave as well. Fear would never leave her, but she could fight that too.

Making sure she still had her knife, Tundra turned back to the mists and ran back. She didn't go as fast, but kept her ears perked to hear anything. After a while, she stopped and put her head down to the ground. She once saw Buck do this, and thought he was crazy. But she closed her eyes, and listened. After a while, she could hear and feel vibrations through the ground. She took an educated guess in what direction they were, and ran off again. It was a while until she heard an uneasy growling.

* * *

><p>Once Tundra had moved, Rudy had attacked. Buck used this chance to jump at the large dinosaur, jumping onto its head.<p>

"Yah yah," he shouted, kicking at the dinosaur as if it were a mount.

Rudy tossed his head slightly, not realizing the weasel was on him.

Buck slide down the dinosaur's nose bridge, looking it in the eye. "Are ya hungry?" he asked, and started throwing persimmons at the large optical.

Rudy roared in pain as vegetables hit his sensitive red eye. He tried to scratch at the weasel with his small fore claws, but the weasel had quickly slide down the dinosaur's backside.

"Hey, over here you big snowball," he shouted, throwing a rock at the dinosaur.

Rudy, his small ears tuned to the weasel's voice, turned with anger. With a ferocious growl, he ran after Buck as the weasel ran away into the mist.

Buck felt the familiar adrenaline rush as he led Rudy on a chase, but his wild grin disappeared as he realized what kind of situation on his was in. The Hills of Desolation were empty of anything besides the flowers. There were no trees, no bushes, no lakes, no rivers, no cliffs, no anything. There was no place to hide, and nothing to use as a distraction. There was only place to run. And after laying on his back for the past three days plus a full day's hike, his body was starting to give out.

Buck glanced back with his one eye, and saw Rudy snapping at him, his teeth getting too close for comfort to his tale. This did not look good.

* * *

><p>Once she could hear the dinosaur, it didn't take her long to for her to find him. But as he chased Buck, it was hard for her to catch up to him. It was strange for her to chase a dinosaur for once, running toward danger when every fiber of her body rejected it. But she did it anyway.<p>

Once she was close enough, she jumped onto one' of Rudy's feet. It was a dangerous move, and she had a hard time hanging on, but it was the only thing she could think of. It was even more difficult to climb up the giant leg with Rudy running so quickly, but once on the dinosaur's back it wasn't so bad. She scrambled along the spine, running along side the large boney sail on Rudy's back and reached the head. Looking down, she could barely see the brown form of Buck running from Rudy, holding onto his knife and his side. He was slowing down. If Rudy came any closer, he was in striking rang.

Without even thinking, Tundra lifted her knife and stabbed it down onto the flat of Rudy's head. It wasn't much, her little knife could only cause as much damaged as a bee would to her, but it drew a little blood.

Rudy stopped, surprised by the stinging on his head. He lowered his head to scratch at it with his claw.

Tundra, without anything else to hang onto besides her knife, clung to it for dear life as the head tilted. A large claw scratched at the scaly hide, dislodging her and her knife. Tundra rolled down, and landed on the long snout of Rudy, and looked at his two eyes up close. The dinosaur went cross-eyed to see what the reddish-brown thing was on him.

Tundra jumped up from her place before another claw swiped at her, and rolled further down the snout. This was a big mistake since Rudy knew what to do at this point. The large dinosaur tossed his head high, and waited for his snack to fall back to him.

Tundra screamed loudly as she became airborne, spinning from the toss. She tried to right herself so she could see where she was going to land, to try and save herself. However, when she looked down, all she could see was the yellowish white teeth, red flesh and the blackness of Rudy's throat. She twisted in mid-air, and as she was coming down, she grabbed onto Rudy's upper lip before falling into his mouth. However, once she touch him, Rudy started closing his mouth quickly. She'd never climb out in time. She's be crushed in between two of the long teeth.

* * *

><p>At first Buck thought he was out running the albino baryonyx, but then he heard the scream. He stopped and looked back to see Rudy opening his mouth to the sky. His heart fell. There was only one creature in the world that could scream like that. But he couldn't believe that it was her. It seemed impossible. But his keen eyes caught a dot of reddish-brown falling to Rudy's mouth.<p>

"No," he whispered as he showed his teeth. But it wasn't a grin.

* * *

><p>Tundra had closed her eyes when she believed it to be the end. She hoped it would be quick, that the tooth would impale her and she'd die quickly. There was no way she wanted to be swallowed still breathing and have to feel what it was like to be digested. She'd guess there might be some pain, and she grunted when it came. But it wasn't a horrible pain, but more like a pinch. She could feel skin being broken and blood running, but it didn't feel any worse than a skinned knee. She opened her eyes.<p>

She looked all around her and saw teeth. Teeth everywhere, but where she was. She looked down at the part of the lip she'd grabbed onto, and saw the jagged line of scar tissue. Where she was, there was no tooth. When Buck had claimed a tooth, it left a gap, one almost big enough for a thin mink. Only the bottom tooth reach her, stabbed a small bit into her flesh.

To her, it was miraculous.

When Rudy didn't feel anything sliding down his throat, he opened his mouth again.

The tooth was pulled out of her flesh, and Tundra was freed. She quickly climbed out. Unbalanced by Rudy's moving, She fell down to the head, almost landing on one of Rudy's eyes. At the sight of the mink, Rudy lowered his snout to combat the mink. Tundra didn't waste any more time, but ran up to the dinosaur's head, and started back down the back.

Rudy wasn't about to let his prey go, no matter how small it was. He knew this wasn't the same mammal that pestered him over and over again, but the two looked a lot alike and that made him angry enough to want to kill it. He turned in a circle, swinging around and bucking, trying to get the mink off his back.

Tundra had planned to jump off Rudy's tail and run away, knowing she could outrun the large dinosaur and eventually disappear in the mists, then circle back to find Buck. But the constant movement of Rudy made it impossible. If she fell at this height, she might break something and then she'd never get away. The only thing she could do was hang onto Rudy's sail, and hope that he'd eventually tire out.

All of a sudden, Rudy stopped moving. His attention was on something on the ground.

"Hey, you big white turd!" a voice shouted. "Come an' get me."

"No, Buck," Tundra cried out, but her voice was drowned out by Rudy's roar.

The large dinosaur dove down to the ground so hard it had fallen to his knees.

Tundra let go of the sail and ran along the level spine. Once at the head, she saw Buck on the ground fighting off Rudy's snaps with a most ferocious look. The mink ran down the nose bridge and along the snout. "Buck!"

The weasel looked up with a look of astonishment. "Angel?"

"Run!" Tundra shouted, and jumped off Rudy's nose. She landed near the weasel, and started running. She looked behind her to see that Buck was following her.

"I told you to run," Buck shouted at her as he caught up.

"I did. Then I came back," Tundra told him. She looked behind her to see Rudy get back onto his feet and started after them. "Hurry. Maybe we can get lost in the mist."

Just about the time she said that, the large flowers started coming above ground and blossoming. The darkness around them started to light up, illuminating the mist and making it easier to see.

"Just great," Tundra muttered.

"This way," Buck told her, and pulled her off in a different direction. They both could hear Rudy's rumbling footprints close by. After a while, Buck started to slow down, his lungs heaving and clutching at his side close to where his sore was.

Tundra didn't notice at first, but then looked back. She felt fearful for the weasel, and grabbed his paw to pull him alongside her, adding her strength to his.

"To the left," Buck directed, depending on Tundra to lead the way.

Tundra veered in that direction, and saw where Buck was leading them. Like an ugly scar in the land, there was a jagged ravine in the middle of the hills.

"Jump in it," Buck told her.

Tundra shuddered, not knowing what was down there. But she trusted Buck knew what he was doing. She put on more speed, and when she was at the cliff edge, she jumped straight down followed by Buck just as Rudy's jaws blew by the weasel's tail. For the first few seconds of the fall, Tundra felt nothing or saw nothing, just darkness. Then she felt herself land on something rough and thin, lots of rough things all around her, breaking her fall and catching onto her fur. She grabbed onto a few of them, and could smell plants and dirt all around her. They were roots all over, strong deep roots from the vines. She could feel Buck close by, hanging on close to her, her paw still clamped over his.

The two looked up once they had stopped falling, watching Rudy try to dig his snout into the small chasm, roaring in frustration. After a long tantrum, his off white scaly hide and angry red eyes disappeared, leaving behind the earth trembling softly with every retreating step.

Buck was the first to look away from the crack opening, and looked at Tundra. Her eyes were still locked onto the sky as if expecting Rudy to come back. She breathed heavily, and held onto Buck's paw tightly. He wondered if all of this excitement was too much for her. She had met, fought off and was almost eaten by Rudy. He never expected so much from the timid mink.

But then he felt fear for the first time in a long time. Not when he faced Rudy, but when he thought that the baryonyx had eaten Tundra. It looked like the end of the mink. It made him afraid. . . and angry at the same time. He had promised to protect Tundra, but he couldn't do that now. He was angry at Rudy, ready to rip the giant lizard to pieces. But then he was angry at himself too. It was a strange feeling to be angry at oneself.

But it was a miracle, he was sure, that Tundra was still alive. He wondered how it was managed. But before that, he wanted to make sure the quivering mink was alright.

"Angel, are you okay?" he asked, pulling his paw from her grasp to touch her shoulder, his other hand keeping him balanced in the plant root's hold.

Tundra didn't look at him, but started to shake even more.

Her shaking made Buck even more concerned, thinking fear had over come her senses. But then she started making a strange noise. It took a while for the noise to evolve into a chuckle. And then she started laughing hard, her voice echoing loudly in the ravine. Buck became startled and leaned back. He believed at that point that she had been scared silly and that her mental health had finally broke.

Tundra took a deep breath, her laughter stopping for a while. "Oh my glaciers," she said, still looking upward, then down at Buck. "That was unbelievable! Can you believe what just happened?" she asked excitedly, her face in a huge grin. "I did it. I can't believe it, but it happened. Did I actually did all of that?"

Buck smiled softly. "Yes, you did."

"I did! I was actually riding on Rudy. That was totally amazing," Tundra shouted, and in her excitement, she rolled along some of the roots and leaned against Buck. "Is this how it feels every time? Do you get this ecstatic every time you take him on? It just feels so cool. That is the most amazing thing I've done. I feel like I can do anything right now. Well, maybe not now. I don't think I can even walk right now. I didn't even know what I was doing half the time. I was just trying to survive. Wow, I can't believe it. I was in his mouth, did you know that?" Tundra ranted on and started laughing again. She was laughing because she was scared and happy all at once. She was laughing because she didn't think of doing something for once and did it. And she was laughing that for the first time, she'd just been almost killed but her grandmother's voice wasn't haunting her every step. She didn't think about her fate, or the future or anything else. That was a real adventure.

Buck looked at Tundra for a while, just listening at her jabber on, and then joined in her laughing.

"Did you see me when he tossed me in the air?" Tundra asked him.

"Yeah, I did," Buck said.

"Just like you. Well, I didn't land in his mouth, but I was in there. I caught his lip before I fell in. And do you know what saved me? That dratted tooth you knocked out. It wasn't in his mouth, so I was saved by the gap," Tundra explained quickly. "Can you believe that? It's almost creepy."

Buck chuckled and wondered if he was like this after his first adventure. She was talking like a little nestling after listening to an exciting story. "You were amazing," he told Tundra sincerely. "I'm really proud of you. You did a good job. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming back for me," Buck told her. He tried to roll around the roots to right himself, but grunted from pain. "If it wasn't for this. . .injury, I'd not let Rudy get the best of me. So, thank you. You saved me again."

Tundra looked away modestly. "Your welcome. But I'd never have done it without you teaching me."

"Then I should be grateful I was such a good teacher," Buck laughed, and pulled on a few roots. "Do you feel alright? Can you climb up?"

Tundra nodded, and started righting herself up.

The two climbed up the ravine, taking it slowly and careful in case Rudy came back. The looked all around for any sign of the beast. But it would be hard to see him in the mist, and his scent was too fresh to smell him. They only had their ears to tell them if he was close by. But after a few minutes of determining he wasn't around, the headed off toward the jungle. It took them longer half the night to get back to their familiar trees and vegetation, and by then they were both yawning and aching from the day's trek, and Tundra's adrenaline rush had worn off. They hardly spoke another word as they quickly scaled a tree and immediately fell asleep on one of the higher branches.

* * *

><p>Author: Thank you all once again for reading my fanfic. I really enjoy each and every review everyone has given me. I'm grateful for the support and encouragement everyone gives me. And now, to give the teaser for the next chapter is. . . . . . Ellie and Peaches!<p>

(The two mammoths walk on stage.)

Ellie: (herding Peaches) This way, baby. Come on. Oh, isn't this exciting. Giving the teaser. I feel all warm and toasty inside.

(Peaches jumps up and down, giggling at her mother's excited voice.)

Ellie: Oh, did you know Peaches said her favorite word. It was so cute.

Author (politely): Wow, that's amazing. . .but the teaser. . .

Ellie: I was giving her a bath when it happened. I was cleaning her ears and she said "Gobba". I'm so proud of her.

Author: Gobba. That isn't a . . . .

Ellie: Let's see if I can get her to say it again. Come on Peaches. Say Gobba. Say Gobba. Gobba.

(Peaches runs around with loads of energy from the attention. When her mother starts talking to her, she stares up at her with a look of amazement, but not saying anything. Finally she giggles, and runs underneath Elli).

Ellie: (slightly disappointed) I guess not. Oh, and she has the cutest look whenever she sneezes. One time she. . . .

Author (clears throat): That's nice, but that's not what I'm paying you for.

Ellie: You're not paying me at all.

Author: Just read the teaser.

Ellie (trunk on hip): Fine I will. (Takes paper from author). It looks like Buck has once again escaped from the deadly jaws of Rudy, and Tundra has made it through meeting the giant carnivour. But will their luck last? Or will Rudy finally have his feindish way and eat them both with parsley and jam? Will Tundra be able to accept her feelings for Buck and admit it out loud? Or will she carry these feelings all her life until she's a gray furred old spinster with too many cat-spiders as pets? What will happen to Crash and Eddie? Will their curiocity get them into trouble they can't get out of? Or will they fight to the death for Frost's hand in marriage? Will Diego figure out that the sabor who raised him isn't his real father? Will Sid finally see the light, and take a bath? Questions like these will stay in your mind just because they're so rediculous. So stay tuned to the next chapter of Love Makes You Crazy.

Ellie: Really? Tundra has a thing for Buck?

Author: How could you not know? I spelled it out in capital, bold and italicized letters in the font of 18 that she likes him a lot.

Ellie: Girl, I'm a mother of a baby mammoth. I don't have time to get on the Internet and read trashy romance fanfics. I have better things to do. I'd like to see you do what I do.

Author: Never mind. Sigh. See you in the next chapter. ^.^


	6. Chapter 6:I promise To Be There

(Author's Note: Yeah, I have a lot of these. Just a peak into my life for all those fans out there. . .or just anyone who cares. I've had quite a few problems lately, which is why this chapter is coming out so late. But to make you feel better, I'm working on this fanfic faster than any of my others. But as for my problems, a lot of them have gone away, so I hope I'll be working faster on them. Please, please, please write me a review if you read this story, even if you've written on before. I really enjoy them. It makes me want to write more, even if I don't. Thank you everyone for your support.)

Love Makes You Crazy

Ch. 6: I Promise to be There

By Emilou AKA Hatashi Kitty

So no one told you life was gonna be this way

Your job's a joke, you're broke, you love life' D.O.A.

It's like your always stuck in second gear

When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even you year, but. . .

I'll be there for you

(When the rain starts to pour)

I'll be there for you

(Like I've been there before)

I'll be there for you

('Cause you're there for me too)

Your still in bed at ten and work began at eight

You burned your breakfast so far, things are going great

Your mother warned you there'd be days like these

But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees, And,

I'll be there for you

(When the rain starts to pour)

I'll be there for you

(Like I've been there before)

I'll be there for you

('Cause you're there for me too)

No one could ever know me

No one could ever see me

Since you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me

Someone to face the day with, make it through all the mess with

Someone I'll always laugh with, even under the worst I'm best with you.

It's like your always stuck in second gear

When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even you year, but. . .

I'll be there for you

(When the rain starts to pour)

I'll be there for you

(Like I've been there before)

I'll be there for you

('Cause you're there for me too)

-(Performed by the Rembrandts. Lyrics by Rembrandts and Allee Willis)

Back in familiar territory, Tundra had become more relaxed with being in the valley of the dinosaurs. And more talkative. It was partially Buck's fault though. After waking up late in the morning, Tundra didn't give in to Buck's request to move quickly so they could make it home in no time. She suspected that Buck would be sore from the chase with Rudy, and was right. Even though she was naturally a timid mink, she found the resolve to be forceful with Buck. They walked slowly. That's when Buck asked her to retell her time with Rudy.

And she told it in her rambling way, reliving the adventure through her words. At times, her eyes sparkled at the memories. Sometimes she would stop and ask Buck if she had done right, just like the eager student, she was to learn after her test. Buck would give her a few pointers, but most often gave her praise, which caused her to beam. And she continued to ramble even after her story was over, asking more and more question about Rudy, wanting to know as much about him as possible. The two continued to talk more and more throughout the day, so absorbed in the subject of the albino dinosaur that they hardly noticed that they had arrived back at Buck's hollow log.

The two stopped, and if they looked at each other they would both see mirrored expressions of disappointment.

"Well, I guess this is the end of our trip," Buck said, and slowly walked to his home. "I guess I can finally ask me wife to see if she's really preggers. Oh, snap, I dropped the persimmons. She ain't gonna be to happy with me."

"I'm coming in too," Tundra said with unusual authority. "I'm going to have a little talk with this wife of yours. You're not to do anything strenuous. . ."

"But it's not that bad," Buck protested.

". . .and stay in bed for the rest of the day. I'm surprised you didn't reopen your wound when we fell down that ravine," Tundra said. She gave Buck a look that prevented the weasel from arguing any further.

The two went into the hollowed log. The fireflies all turned their lights on.

"Honey, I'm back. Sorry we were gone so long," Buck called out as he strolled in.

There was no answer.

"Sweetheart, where are you?" Buck called, and looked in the bed room. "Huh, she's not here. I wonder if she's outside." Buck moved back out of the hollow log with Tundra right behind. As soon as he was outside, he was calling out to her.

Tundra jumped onto the log to have a better look. "There, I see something over there," she pointed out.

Buck looked in that direction. "Ah, she must be by the pool. Come on then." He sauntered in that direction, a smile on his face. He was about to call out and wave to his wife, but he saw something that made his smile droop and he slowed down.

"Are you okay?" Tundra asked, seeing the weasel sag and thought that he had tired himself out. But then she saw what he was seeing.

Near the Rudy footprint pool sat the pineapple. Nestled up next to her in an embrace of passion was the rutabaga pool boy, Fernando.

"What's going on here?" Buck shouted, raising his paws above his head.

Tundra jumped at his shout, and looked back at the two not really sure what was going on.

The pineapple tilted away from the rutabaga just as Fernando fell back from the slippery mud into the pool.

"Wh. . .What. . .Were you just. . . ," Buck stammered, his voice getting higher and louder. Then he shouted at the pineapple. "No, I will not calm down! How else am I suppose to react when I come home to find my wife with . . .my pool boy! Huh? I'm suppose to take that calmly, am I?"

The scenario finally dawned on Tundra, and she couldn't help but turn a judgmental look toward the pineapple. But guilt reminded her of her own discrepancies, her dreams of romance with the weasel. She looked away.

"What? Just a kiss? JUST a kiss. What I saw wasn't just a kiss," Buck continued to shout, waving his arms around. "It's not a big deal, you say! Where is that rutabaga? I'll make it a big deal. Where did he go? I teach him for touchin' my wife." Buck started off with an angry look that suggested that violence was on its way.

Tundra didn't want to get involved in the argument, and decided the best thing to do was to sidle away, maybe come back to see if Buck was okay in an hour or two once things had calmed down a bit.

"Well, how about if I kiss Angel here? That wouldn't be a big deal, I suppose," Buck told his wife with spite, grabbed Tundra around the waist and pulling her toward him. "So, you wouldn't care if I did that?"

Tundra pulled away from Buck, feeling her cheeks warm up from the suggestion. He was close enough to do as he threatened, causing her brain to go haywire. She looked at the pineapple, and knew it would be a big deal to the fruit if Buck did dare. To get away from Buck's powerful grip, she kicked him hard to break from his embrace. He didn't seem to even feel her kick, but allowed her to escape.

"Oh, now I see how it is now. You send me away every day to get you pears and grapes from the top of the mountains and fresh ginger just to get me out of the house," Buck accused, pointing a finger at the pineapple. "You wanted me gone." Apparently the pineapple said something surprising at Buck, because his ears perked up in surprise and not the good kind of surprise. It was the kind of surprise when you see your pet get run over by a rhinoceros.

"Hey, don't try to blame this on me. I supported you in all your hobbies. Like the basket weaving, and the painting, and remember when you wanted to be a dancer. Who paid for all of those lessons? I did," Buck yelled to the sky. "I did!" He gave the pineapple an unbelievable look. "Oh, and you just had to bring him up. Rudy has nothing to do with you cheating on me. I just saw you. I wouldn't call that nothing. Is that 'little kiss' the only thing that you've been doing? What else has been going on? Huh? Is it just with Fernando? How many other pool boys have you been cleaning our pool?"

Tundra tried move out of the picture again. She felt very uncomfortable there, and felt almost as out of her element just as the day she had fallen from the ice sky. This wasn't her business. She didn't want to be a part of this. The only reason she didn't high tail it out of there was that she was worried about Buck. He was getting more and more excited, and he really should have some rest. But how to make him go back inside and lay down.

"You know what? I'm done," Buck said in a lower voice, and turned away from her. "I'm through with you." Then he stalked off.

Tundra saw that he wasn't heading back to the fallen log. She rushed to get along side him. "Buck, you should go lie down. You need rest."

"I won't go back there. Not as long as she's there," Buck growled, and continued to march away. "And I don't need rest," he shot at Tundra with a glare. "Just leave me alone."

Tundra had never seen Buck so angry, and felt very shocked when he directed that anger toward her. Not knowing what else to, she backed away from him. She didn't go after him when he ran off into the jungle. Without anything else to do, she left to her tree. Normally she would spend the day with Buck. His training kept her busy through the day. But now, she had nothing to do. Out of nervousness and boredom, she tried carving again with her knife, but only managed to make a five legged mammoth before she called it quits. Then she tried pacing her branch until it became dark.

The hammock was a welcome sight, but didn't bring her enough peace to fall asleep. The hammock swung noisily as she tossed and turned, and that wasn't something easy to do in a hammock. Because she wasn't asleep was the only reason why she heard a noise coming from the trunk of her tree.

She leaped from her bed, knife in hand and ready for anything. She didn't expect to see Buck's face again that night, but there he was climbing the trunk as loud as a heard of mammoths, and singing like a jackass penguin.

"Buck, are you okay?" Tundra asked, worried that his wound reopened with the wobbly way he climbed the tree.

Buck allowed her to pull him up the rest of the way, a big goofy grin on his face. "Ne'er felts betters, Angel-girl. Why, I feel happier than sha monkey full of barrelsh," he shouted in slurred words.

Tundra's eyes widened. "Buck, are you drunk?"

"Only a little," he said, and held up his thumb and forefinger up to measure. However, he tried to look through the gap, but couldn't hold his hand or his feet steady, and nearly fell off the branch.

"Okay, I think it's time for you to go to bed," Tundra said, knowing enough from her grandfather's many late night parties what to do with the intoxicated. "You're going to feel a whole lot tomorrow."

"Shpa!" Buck snorted and waved away her words. "I'm gonna make sure I never haffa feel a thing. Evaa!"

Tundra patted his arm. "That's right. But only if you go to sleep."

"I'll teach that pineapple," Buck shouted, waving his arms wildly, nearly falling backward. He didn't seem to notice Tundra catching him and pushing him to the hammock. "I'll show her. I'm gonna be happy wit'out 'er."

Tundra directed Buck firmly to the hammock, and almost had him in it before the weasel let out a pitiful wail.

"Oooohhhhhhh, what did I do wrong?" he shouted to the canopy, his voice taken a sudden dive into depression. "I thought I did everything to make her happy. Why?" he asked Tundra with a sad look. He then flopped into her arms in an awkward hug and started sobbing into her fur.

"Oh," Tundra grunted as she had to hold up his full weight. When she was balanced, she patted him on the back. "There. There," she told him and tightened her hug.

"I loved her so much," Buck cried out and sobbed some more.

"It's alright. Just go to sleep, and we'll take care of this in the morning," Tundra told him in a motherly tone, pushing him gently off her. "It'll look better in the morning."

"Really?" Buck asked like a child. "You'll help me get her back?"

Tundra winced, guilt whispering her dark secrets to her, but she batted them away. "Sure. I'll do what I can to help," she told him honestly. "You should just get some sleep."

Buck allowed himself to be helped into the hammock, his sloppy grin back on his face. "I'm so happy that you'll go talk to her. You're the best mate a weasel could have, Angel."

The words didn't register in Tundra's brain until it was too late. Before she could correct Buck that she wasn't going to talk to his wife for him, the weasel was fast asleep, snoring away without any cares.

Tundra sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. What had Buck gotten her into now?

* * *

><p>Tundra lay awake for the whole night, and it wasn't because of Buck's snoring. She was dead tired from the long trip, but she still couldn't manage to close her eyes. There was quite a lot to think about.<p>

For instance, how was she supposed to have a talk with a flighty pineapple. Deep down, Tundra knew that she was only an it, a piece of fruit with no emotions or personality, an inanimate object that couldn't respond to anything. From the get go, Tundra didn't bat an eye on the fact that Buck had a pineapple wife. She had accepted more bizarre eccentric idiosyncrasies of people, including her own family. If Buck believed it, then who was she to tell him that he talked to a piece of from. Who was she to judge a person for their little quirks or mental status.

But Buck's wife was more than just a tropical fruit. There was something different about her. . . it. . .whatever.

Tundra could sense things from it, or her, for now. Tundra could feel a glare from the pineapple, could tell when she was talking even though she didn't know what she was saying, and sensed the pineapple's dislike of her. It was almost like the way you could sense ghosts, you suspected that they were there, but you couldn't prove or disprove it.

Because of Buck and those few instances when she felt something strange around the pineapple, she had treated the fruit as a being. Some part of her instincts told her to.

But logic also told her differently.

How was she suppose to interpret all of this? Be normal and see her as a pineapple, and perhaps persuade Buck that's what she was. But that seemed wrong. That was part of Buck. His craziness, the way he saw this world, he created his own world. It was like he took charge of his life and made it as he wanted it. To burst that, it may take away everything that made Buck Buck. She couldn't do that. It would be cruel to turn Buck into one of them, one of the people that lived above the ice.

She shifted all night long on the branch, twisting and turning. Sometimes she was asleep, sometimes she wasn't and sometimes she was somewhere in between with her eyes wide open but still dreaming. When the sun came out, she was relieved, and sat up. She stretched the weariness out of her muscles and stood up. First thing she did that morning was to look at Buck. He was still sound asleep, snoring away and looking as if the minute he wakes up he'll regret it.

But she still couldn't help but smile down at his sleeping face. She loved to watch him all the time and see all his many expressions. He had so many different smiles, and she knew every single one of them. His wild one for danger, his crooked one whenever he said a joke, his one that was just in between the two when he said something dangerous that was actually a joke, one for when he was pleased with something Tundra had done, one that he gave her when he said they were friends, one that he had just before he fell asleep, one he reserved just for when he talked about Rudy, and another one that he used whenever he came home and kissed his wife. It was such a tender and loving smile, and it broke Tundra's heart with the thought that that smile would never be on the weasel's lips ever again.

Thinking that made Tundra mad. Very mad. She remembered what Buck asked of her last night, and decided that perhaps it was a good idea to go talk to the pineapple. It may not do any good, but at least she could vent.

She scrambled down the tree and scampered through the forest to Buck's home. There, she found the pineapple in the same spot where Buck had left her, by the pool. She almost wondered why Buck's wife wasn't in the house, but stopped her thoughts.

Then she sensed that the pineapple saw her. She felt a cold gaze on her. Tundra took a deep breath and marched to her. When she was close enough, she stopped and pointed a finger at the fruit.

"Listen here, missy. You must have a small heart to do a thing like that to Buck. He has been nothing but a loving husband to you. He's the bravest mammal I've ever met, and I can say that he's one of a kind. And you just threw that all away. Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Do you know how much anybody would give to have what you have?" Tundra shouted with more emotion than she intended. "How can you not know how wonderful Buck is?"

Tundra turned around in a circle, and ran her fingers through her fur in frustration. "I can't believe I'm yelling at a pineapple. I can't believe I just admitted to a piece of fruit that I'm jealous of her. That's right world, I'm jealous of her!" she shouted in the jungle and pointed at the pineapple. Then she screamed. In a quieter voice, she giggled hysterically before saying to herself, "This must be the lowest point of my sanity. I must be insane to come down here and talk to you. To tell you that Buck might actually take you back, because he loves you so much. And part of me doesn't want to. Many parts of me don't want to. I could just go back to Buck and tell him that you've run away. It would be so easy.

"But I can't. I can't lie to him. I can't say no to him. I want to give him whatever he wants because I'm in love with him," Tundra said looking down at the pineapple, and tears suddenly came to her eyes. "I love him, and I can't tell him. And because I love him so much, I just want him to be happy. And he wants to be happy with you."

The pineapple seemed to be projecting shock, surprise and a little sadness. Was it just a trick of the light, or was there a glisten of moisture on the pineapple's face? Did pineapples have faces?

"So consider yourself lucky, because I'm pretty sure he's going to give you another chance. I don't think you deserve it, but if you can make him smile again then you should take it," Tundra told the pineapple with a serious look. Then her frown deepened. "But I swear to you, if you hurt him again, I'll. . .I'll. . .turn you into a fruit salad and feed you to sloths."

After venting and threatening the pineapple, Tundra felt a little better in some ways, but worse in other ways. She spoke from her heart, and spoke the truth. But it still hurt. She turned away from that place and started to run away.

However, she didn't get far when she turned around and angrily picked up the pineapple. "I'm surprised that this darn thing hasn't been stepped on, carried away or eaten," Tundra muttered to herself as she stomped to the hollow log. "You better be grateful," she growled to the pineapple as she took it to the shelter of the log.

* * *

><p>Buck woke up with a horrible headache and no memory of the day before. It didn't take him long to figure out that the drink had something to do with this. He sheltered his poor eyes from the sunlight that fell on him, and fell back onto the bed. However, he soon learned he wasn't in a bed, and he went on a short ride as the hammock rocked too much and poured his top half out. Buck shouted in pain and anger as his head collided with the branch.<p>

"Buck, are you awake?" a female voice called out.

Buck tried to get his lower half out of the hammock while still sheltered his head from more aching than it could take. "I wish I wasn't," Buck moaned, and pulled his final foot out from the vines. "Oh, I don't feel so good. Just kill me, will ya, Angel?"

Tundra stood up and rubbed her eyes. She didn't want to Buck to see her tears. He had worse problems than hers, and there was no way she could explain why she was so sad. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was his best friend. Nothing more.

"You've had a hard night," Tundra said, and went to him. She made him stay laying down and pressed a piece of ice to Buck's head. "You shouldn't be out of bed even if you didn't have a hangover. You're still hurt."

"Oh, what happened?" Buck asked in a low voice. As he searched his memories, he slowly remembered images that made his chest hurt. Suddenly his headache wasn't the worse thing that morning. "I remembered. Oh, I remember it all. I wish I didn't."

Tundra felt the pain come back, because she didn't know how to comfort him. This wasn't her cousin or one of her sisters that she'd just give a hug to and let them vent their feelings until they cried. This was Buck, the toughest creature to live. What could she do? Pat his shoulder and say, "There, there," like he was some child? Well, she did that last night. But he was drunk and probably didn't remember that.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Buck," she said, the only thing she could think of.

"So am I," Buck muttered. His eyes were still closed. "What am I going to do?"

Tundra looked down. "I don't think I'm the best to give advice, Buck. I've never been married. I've never been cheated on," she told him, ignoring her aching heart. "I only know from my family, who are embarrassingly notorious for their many marriages. And affairs. And scandals. In fact, I don't think anyone on my mother's side hasn't had marriage troubles."

"Did any of them. . .go through. . .this?" Buck asked, licking his lips nervously.

"Well, yeah. . .kind of. Usually it was both of them cheating, but not all the time," Tundra said with a embarrassed shrug. "My mother's first husband was the one who cheated. And with a hedgehog, no less."

Buck with still closed eyes asked, "And did any of them reconciled? Did they get back together?"

Tundra shook her head before she realized that Buck couldn't see her. "No, none of them did. Divorce was a pretty sure thing after that. It's almost tradition in my family. Sometimes we have divorce parties." She could see Buck grit his teeth, and Tundra opened her mouth again. "But that's different. It was only a kiss. She didn't full out cheat on you."

"How do I know that?" Buck shouted and sat up. He winced immediately, and laid back down, taking the ice away from Tundra's hand.

Tundra took her hand away, but still sat next to Buck. She looked down at him sadly, feeling her heart ache as she said to him, "I believe her when she says that's all that happened. I think you should do."

Buck opened his eyes and looked at her, the anger still there. "Why?"

"You still love her, don't you?" Tundra asked. Even when Buck looked away from her, she continued on. "You told me yourself last night, after you were. . .you know. I can tell right now, you still love her, or you wouldn't be so angry."

Buck sighed, and sadness swept through his face. "I do. Even after that, I still love her."

Tundra turned her head away. "I went to talk to her this morning."

Buck's face turned quickly to the mink in surprise. "You did?"

"Last night you asked me to. So I did. And I think she's really sorry," Tundra told him as she twisted her fingers together. "I kind of yelled at her a bit though. I guess I was really mad too. You should know when you go talk to her, perhaps she's had enough yelling for one day."

"Talk to her?" Buck asked, and sat up slowly. "But, I. . .shouldn't I wait?"

"Buck, I don't know much about anything about this but what I've seen. And I think that the main problem is that you don't spend much time with your wife as she'd like," Tundra told him. "That's what all my aunts complained about. There's never a man around the house whenever they need one. Perhaps you two should sit down and just talk for a while. Stay home for a couple of days and do something together. I know when my mom and dad went to a marriage counselor, their relationship improved. At least, that's what I think."

Buck nodded, looking so passive he didn't look like himself. "I guess you're right. Perhaps a few days at home would be good. I guess I never thought of that." He looked as if he were thinking things over. "But what about you, and your lessons?"

Tundra smiled. "You taught me so much already, Buck. I can't ask you to risk your marriage for me. Besides, perhaps it'll be good for me to be on my own for a while and test what I can do," she told him, trying not to look disappointed. "You didn't notice the ice in your hand. Where do you think I got that?"

Buck looked at the piece of ice with a confused look, and then back at Tundra.

Tundra gave him a smug smile. "Yep, all by myself too. Impressive, huh? But I guess after Rudy, it isn't."

Buck nodded. "I guess you're almost ready to go back home then," he said, sadness in his voice.

Tundra realized that her goal that she made so long ago had been completed. It had been a long time, and her family must be very worried for her. But she couldn't leave yet.

"I'm not going home," Tundra told the weasel. "You need a friend to support you now. I'll be here until this is all over."

"You will?" Buck asked giving her a look she'd never seen on him before.

"I promise I will. I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't," Tundra said. And as a last minute thought, she slugged his arm hard.

Buck smiled for the first time that day. "Thanks. That's what I need."

After their talk, Tundra cared for Buck, giving him something to eat and drink and making sure his wound was still healing. Then she helped him back down the trunk and gave him some last words of encouragement to help him along the way. She wouldn't go with him; it wouldn't do anyone any good. And after she had waved good-bye to Buck and watched him until he was gone, she was finally able to let it all out and cry.

* * *

><p>In the next few weeks, Tundra tried to keep herself busy instead of thinking of Buck. She was determined not to pine over him or get distracted. She was also determined to fall out of love with him. Since she didn't see him as much, she tried to dwell on his bad points, nit picking over what she disliked over him. For instance, his taste in women.<p>

And. . .his. . .bad breath after he ate fish.

And. . .his. . .

Well, it was just best to not think of him at all.

But it never worked. The more she tried not to think about Buck, the more he appeared in her thought. And every night, she dreamed about it. Sometimes they were sweet dreams, ending to the point where their lips almost touch, but then she'd just wake up. Some dreams weren't as good. Sometimes Buck's wife was there, catching the two mammals in an embrace. Sometimes it was of Tundra confessing her feelings to Buck, and he only reacted to her in disgust, telling her that she was a horrible mammal for trying to take him away from his wife. Sometimes, she'd have all three type dreams in a night.

She tried to keep busy by going to places around the jungle that she had never been before, taking rides on giant butterflies and trying to teach herself how to use her knife. One day, she spent hours trying to hit a certain spot on a tree, and found out on her own how to make sure the knife landed point first instead of handle first. She foraged for her own food and honed her fishing catching skills. Occasionally, she landed in trouble, but after dealing with Rudy, it didn't seem so miraculously that she'd escape by herself. Her confidence soared more and more every day.

One day, she even managed to raid a pterodactyl's nest for eggs, and gorged herself on the feast. However, her victory seemed sadly hollow without someone there. She missed having someone there just to talk to.

Every day before she went home, she stopped by the hollow log and knocked on the door. She never went in, but brought something for the couple to eat. She kept her sentences short but polite. She tried not to talk to Buck too much, but just asking if he needed anything and to see if he was healing fine. She'd also ask how things were going with his wife, and he'd give her a small report.

However, both of them noticed that things were different between the two of them. They didn't know what changed, but it did. Their short conversations sometimes turned into an awkward silence that was only broken with short good-byes. Tundra couldn't help but feel like the two had gone from friends to neighbors, but shook that off. She told herself Buck was having a hard time, and that once he patched things up with his wife, it would get better.

It was after a couple of weeks before Tundra ran into Buck in the jungle. At first, there was surprise, then awkward small talk. While they asked questions about each others lives, Tundra decided she was sick and tired of her friendship with Buck going down the tube like this. There was no reason for them to act like this. Besides, she was determined to go home just as soon as Buck was back to his old self, and she wanted to spend that time the best she could. She took her knife and showed Buck her self-taught knife throwing. It didn't take Buck long to go back to teaching mode, telling her the best way to hold a knife and how to throw it, then on to more knife fighting strategies. That broke the ice, and they were back to their old ways. But not for long. Buck soon had to return home.

They parted ways, Tundra feeling much better after seeing Buck really smile once more. His relationship with his wife was improving since he stayed home more, and she guessed because he spent less time with her. But she was glad that he was happy. It wouldn't be long before she could go home.

* * *

><p><em>Rudy roared with ferocity right before he bent his huge head down to enjoy his tasty meal. Fire sprang up from the earth all over, illuminating Rudy's pale scales and adding a gleam to his red eyes.<em>

_ Tundra scream from her place tied to a log, unable to move. She waited for her doom to come. There was nothing she could do._

_ As Rudy opened his jaws to snap over Tundra, a shout came from the jungle. Like an eagle swooping down to catch its prey, a ball of fur swung down on a single vine right into Rudy's snout. It swung around the snout over and over again, causing the powerful jaws to close shut. The ball of fur landed with a flare on Rudy's nose and pulled tightly._

_ "BUCK!" Tundra shouted excitedly from the log._

_ "I'm coming, Angel," he shouted to her, and pulled the vine tight around Rudy's maw._

_ The dinosaur shook his head to get rid of the weasel, but Buck held on fast. He then jumped off with the rest of the vine. For an unexplained reason, the vine never seemed to end. Even though there was only a little left after tying Rudy's mouth shut, he still had enough to climb down the dinosaur's snout and wrap it a few times around Rudy's legs._

_ "Come on, Angel-girl. That won't hold him for long," Buck said, as he jumped onto the log and with a few quick slices had cut her free. He didn't wait for Tundra to get onto her feet, but grabbed her paw and pulled her into his arms. Just as Rudy slammed his snout into the log, Buck jumped off it with a flip and landed on the ground at a run. He glanced back to see the dinosaur loose his balance and fall to the ground with a large cloud of dirt rising up around him. Buck laughed and continued to run through the forest. And he didn't stop until was at the edge of the Lagoon of Lost Souls._

_ "Thank you so much, Buck. That was so brave," Tundra told him from her place in his arms once he had stopped running._

_ "Was nuthin'," Buck admitted with a confident grin, and set Tundra down. Just as he let go of the mink, she started to fall. He caught her again, holding her against him to steady her._

_ "I guess my legs are still weak from being tied up," Tundra told him with one of her smiles, the one that said she was sorry but found some humor in the situation. She put her paws on his shoulders to help keep herself up._

_ "I don't mind," Buck told her, and tightened his grip on her. "I'll hold onto you as long as you need me to."_

_ Tundra's face drifted closer to his and their noses touched. "Buck, I need you. . ." she whispered._

Buck woke up with a start, not knowing what pulled him out of the dream. Once awake, he started with horrifying realization of what he had just dreamed. His heart still beat quick from the feelings that lingered from his unconscious, and he slowed his breathing to calm the heart down. He looked down at the other side of the bed to see if his wife woke up, and saw that all was silent. He then silently slipped out of the bed and the house to wander in the cool outdoors.

He pushed the fur on the top of his head back to calm his thoughts. What had he just been dreaming about? Why would he dream about that? He was married and Tundra was his best friend? He had never even considered her in that way before. Why did he just dream about him and her. . .?

He stopped himself from dwelling on what they almost did in his unconscious, and tried to rationalize himself. He had been under a lot of stress. He was developing a bit of cabin fever as he tried to reconcile with his wife. It was hard for him to talk to her about her problems, about her loneliness throughout the day and wondering where he was all the time. Tundra was right. That was the reason she had sought comfort from the pool boy.

But their progress was slow. Every time he thought they were going forward, something would set them back. She wanted him to give up so much. She wanted him home more, to give up his dangerous lifestyle. She wanted him to get a job at her father's store.

And Buck told her what he thought. She wanted him to be boring.

Then she went on about how Buck thought her family was boring.

And another fight would start.

It was funny how in the fights, she always brought up Tundra. As if she had anything to do with this.

Perhaps that's why. Maybe the reason for his dream is because she wanted him to stop hanging around Tundra, and Buck had stopped going out for a while. He hadn't seen much of the mink, and perhaps that's why he dreamed about her. This had nothing to do with anything else other than he missed his best friend.

After that realization, he felt better.

And left it at that.

* * *

><p>After many failed attempts at inventing a device to capture a pterodactyl, the two opossums and one mink stood at the brink of the ice hole, looking down in what almost was an unobtainable goal. But today was the day.<p>

"I feel sick," Frost said as the two lowered the fish into the hole.

"Try not to think of it," Eddie told her.

"How can I when you keep on telling me how cool this is going to be?" Frost told them.

"I thought you were a tough mink," Crash teased her.

"Hey, for a mink, this is tough," Frost said, and thought how much she regretted her one weakness: heights. While she liked to think she wasn't afraid of anything and would beat anyone who thought otherwise, she couldn't help but feel faint at anything higher than two sabor's high.

"Just remember this is all for Tundra," Eddie said, and tied a vine around her waist.

"For Tundra. For Tundra," Frost chanted, and kept the mink's face in her mind's eye. "Okay, I think I'm ready."

"Okay, everything's set," Crash told them all.

All three looked over their plan. The fish was tied to one end of a long vine. The other end was tied to a sharp rock that was frozen in the ice a few yards from the hole. In between, the two opossums and Frost had used smaller vines to tie themselves to the main vine.

"Let's go!" Eddie said, and jumped down into the hole.

"No, wait!" Frost cried out as Crash followed his brother. The weight of the opossums dragged her across the ice and into the hole. She had screamed once, and then held it in as she fell. Once she had stopped falling, she grabbed hold of the main vine and clung to it for dear life. Before she could look down, she closed her eyes.

"Tell me when its over," she told the opossums.

"Here, pterodactyls," Eddie called and swung the fish back and forth alluringly.

A few of the reptilian fliers circled below them, but they didn't get too close.

"Come on, we can't hang here all day," Crash shouted at the pterodactyls. "Come and get us, ya big chickens."

Frost kicked at the opossums. "Hey, we want them to get the fish. Not us," she shouted at them, trying very hard not to look down.

"Here comes a big one," Eddie shouted, and spotted one of the flying dinosaur changing flight pattern to come toward them. "Get ready, guys."

Frost moaned.

The pterodactyl came closer, but still kept a distance. It was used to eating fish from the sky, but this was something different. There were other creatures hanging from the sky, but these were still alive. It cautiously approached the fish, weary of the other creatures.

"Wait for it, Crash," Eddie told his brother who was closest to the top.

Crash kept a steady paw on the vine, but his other one shook. In that paw he held a sharp rock, one that could easily cut through the main vine in one swipe. Once the pterodactyl passed under them, he would cut the vine and cause the three of them to fall onto the dinosaur's back.

"Almost there," Eddie whispered, as he swung the fish to lure the flying reptile closer.

The pterodactyl swooped around, deciding on taking the bait. It dove for the fish, trying to avoid the suspicious mammals.

"Now Crash!" Eddie shouted, seeing the jaws of the dinosaur open.

Crash cut the vine and the three fell, Eddie and Crash whooping from the excitement, and Frost screaming with her eyes still closed.

Eddie pulled himself closer the to pterodactyl. His job was to loop a different vine around the creature's neck to secure all of them. With a flick of his wrist, he lassoed the dinosaur and pulled. His paws felt scales, and he grabbed a hold of the back of the dinosaur. The pterodactyl was still plummeting, probably panicking from the falling mammals, so Eddie did all of this during free fall. Once he was secure, he pulled on the other end of the vine to get the others on the dinosaur.

Crash was ready, pulling himself until he could hold onto the dinosaur. But Frost still refused to open her eyes despite everything that was going on.

The pterodactyl, realizing it was being force to be used as a vehicle of transportation, started to fly erratically, spinning and bucking to get the vine off it's neck and the mammals off its back. It flew higher, and dove down again. It weaved through strange rock formations, hoping the sharp corners would whip them off. But it was to no avail.

"WHHHHHEEEEEEEEE!" the two opossums shouted happily, hanging onto the vine with only one paw, other in the air.

"How are you doing, Frost?" Crash shouted behind him.

"I'm going to throw up!" the mink shouted.

"Me too! Isn't this great?" he shouted back.

Frost just moaned, and tried to open her eyes. But the vertigo made her head spin so hard, she had to close them or loose her stomach contents.

The pterodactyl had enough of being used in this way, feeling the little paws kicking it and pulling its head in the direction the opossums wanted it to go. It wasn't going to be handled this way. In a dizzying display of aerodynamic olympics, the pterodactyl flew into the jungle vegetation. Immediately, the fronds and branches knocked into all four of the animals.

Because she couldn't see, Frost was unready to deal with the trees, and screamed when plant-life hit her. Before Crash or Eddie could look back to see if she was okay, she was knocked off the dinosaur's back.

The two opossums heard Frost scream and the vine tied around their waists pull on them. When they looked back, but she was gone. They could still hear her screaming, and looked below the pterodactyl. She was still there swinging from the measly vine, panicking like no other.

"Hang on. We'll pull you up," Eddie cried out, and grabbed the rope.

But they were a few seconds too late. The next large tree that came by hit Frost full body, and the vine easily broke from the pressure.

Crash and Eddie gasped in shock.

"Turn the pterodactyl around!" Eddie told his brother, and the two tried to steer the dinosaur.

But the pterodactyl wasn't so easily controlled. Once it felt the mammals move to its side, it did a barrel roll, causing the opossums to fall off. But they still hung on from the rope.

"We'll teach this big turkey to mess with us," Crash said, and came up with a crazy idea. He swung on the rope as they dodged branches and trees before they too were hurt. Then he spotted what he was looking for, a strong branch at the right height. He aimed for it, and with the force of Eddie and him, they were able to wrap the rope around the branch a few times before the pterodactyl pulled on it. The rope stayed, and the dinosaur went down.

"Yeah, cool," Eddie said, and the two bumped knuckles.

"That'll teach you. Don't mess with opossums," Crash shouted at the flailing upside-down dinosaur.

Eddie then looked more serious than he usually could stand. "Hey bro. We have to find Frost. She could be in really big trouble."

"Yeah, she's not used to adventures like we are," Crash said, mirroring his brother's serious face. "We have to go back for her."

"Besides," Eddie added, his face now filling with fear. "She's going to be super pissed that we let her fall off."

"Maybe we shouldn't find her," Crash thought out loud.

The two thought it over, but the chances of her finding them before they died of old age was pretty big. They started off in the direction that Frost was, but not before cutting the pterodactyl down. They weren't complete jerks.

* * *

><p>Frost opened her eyes slowly, and looked around. There was more green than any forest she'd ever seen, even in summer. But she didn't get much time to admire the scenery before she doubled over and threw her lunch up on the ground.<p>

The white mink moaned as she moved away from her sick, but moved in slow deliberate steps as if the ground was moving below her. She found a space between a tree's roots, and laid down. It didn't take her long to forget her air-sickness and concentrate on her situation. She was a little bruised from the fall, but not too bad. She counted herself lucky in that aspect, but unlucky that she lost her two companions. Here she was in an untamed world with giant lizards that would rather eat or step on her than give her the time of day and she still had no way of finding her cousin.

Suddenly, there was a soft chirping noise from nearby. It almost sounded like tiny birds in a nest. Frost looked around for the source of the chirping, and moved through the vegetation, her legs still a little shaky from the fall. At last, she found the noise, and her eyes bulged.

The lizards weren't large compared to dinosaur standards, but they were taller than the mink. Standing on hind legs and bobbing their heads like brain-less birds, the lizards snapped, chirped and growled at each other as they fed on the remaining flesh of a skeletal carcass. However, when the mink breached through the vegetation, they all stopped in the squabbling and looked at her.

Frost could only stare at the scene, even as the lizards moved toward her with hungry looks.

The scavenger lizards weren't predators. Usually.

After the shock of seeing her first dinosaurs had worn off, Frost realized what their intentions were for her, and backed away a bit.

_Tundra, if you are dead, I might be finding you sooner than I thought_.

* * *

><p>(Author's note part 2: The teaser for chapter seven was pre-recorded a few days before this chapter was submitted. Ever little detail was not edited out due to Sid not letting me filter out a few things.)<p>

Author: That's the end of chapter six. Here to bring you a teaser for the next chapter is the one and only Diego. Isn't is such a cute kitty? Isn't he? Yes, you are.

Diego (looking at her strangely): Uh, thanks. I think. You know, you aren't how the others said you were.

Author (with a big grin on face): Why is that?

Diego: Well, they said you were terse, and maybe a little harsh. And definitely strange. They never said anything about creepy.

Author: Now why would you say a think like that?

Diego: Probably because you are tying a pink ribbon with a bell and my name on it around my neck.

Author: I also have a kitty dish and a brushie for you.

Diego: (with a stern face) Can I leave yet?

Author( in same voice you'd use when talking to babies): Not yet, you silly kitty. First you have to read the teaser for the next chapter.

Diego: Give it to me. (snatches paper from author and clears throat) The emotions are riding high and things are heating up for our young adventurers as Tundra has declared her feeling for Buck to his wife's face. Buck has returned to his wife. Will Tundra leave it at that? Will Tundra allow Buck to live in complete bliss, or will she turn out like the rest of her family and steal him away? Or will she kill the two of them and then commit suicide so nobody can have Buck? Will Crash and Eddie be able to survive in the dinosaur wasteland? Or will they de-evolve into blood thirsty creatures and become cannibals? Will Frost have her revenge for letting them scare her so much? (Diego looks agast)

Diego: What is this garbage? This doesn't sound like a teaser for a romantic comedy. What's going on?

Author: Read on.

Diego (sigh): Will Ellie find out what happened to her two brothers? Will she blame Manny for their reckless behavior? Will Diego move into my apartment so that I can brush him every day, feed him fishie treats and pet him and love him forever and ever and ever in complete bliss. Please say he will. I'll die if he doesn't.

(Diego's countenance slowly turns from stoic to that of fear. When he finishes reading, his eyes slowly move to author.

(Author sits with big, crazy look on her face.

Author: Did you know you're my favorite?

Diego: Can I go home now?

Author: Purr for me first.

Diego: I'm going to go get a restraining order. (Leaves)

Author (on knees): No please! Come back. I'm cat deprived. Please, just sit on my lap for a while. Pleeeeeaaaaasssssssse!

(Author's note part three: I'd like to formally apologize to Diego for the scene I made. I have been without a cat for many, many years of my life, and I was unable to control my actions nor words around him. I could not be responsible for anything I had said. I also know that I'm also no longer allowed to be within fifty feet of him. I also apologize to my readers, since he probably will no longer do any teasers. I'm sorry. I'll see you. Until next chapter.)


	7. Chapter 7:Fallin'

(Author's Note: Once again, thank you everyone who wrote a review. If you do read my story, please submit one. I really enjoy hearing from you. I'd even enjoy hearing if you didn't like it. I can take it. Also, I feel like I'm as crazy as Buck writing some of this. It's so silly. But I've enjoyed writing this fanfic very much.)

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter Seven: Fallin'

By Emilou aka Hatashi Kitty

_I don't know but  
>I think I maybe<br>Fallin' for you  
>Dropping so quickly<br>Maybe I should  
>Keep this to myself<br>Waiting 'til I  
>Know you better<br>I am trying  
>Not to tell you<br>But I want to  
>I'm scared of what you'll say<br>So I'm hiding what I'm feeling  
>But I'm tired of<br>Holding this inside my head  
>I've been spending all my time<br>Just thinking about ya  
>I don't know what to do<br>I think I'm fallin' for you  
>I've been waiting all my life<br>And now I found ya  
>I don't know what to do<br>I think I'm fallin' for you  
>I'm fallin' for you<br>As I'm standing here  
>And you hold my hand<br>Pull me towards you  
>And we start to dance<br>All around us  
>I see nobody<br>Here in silence  
>It's just you and me<br>I'm trying  
>Not to tell you<br>But I want to  
>I'm scared of what you'll say<br>So I'm hiding what I'm feeling  
>But I'm tired of<br>Holding this inside my head_

_I've been spending all my time  
>Just thinking about ya<br>I don't know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you<br>I've been waiting all my life  
>And now I found ya<br>I don't know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you<br>I'm fallin' for you  
>Oh I just can't take it<br>My heart is racing  
>The emotions keep spinning out<br>I've been spending all my time  
>Just thinking about ya<br>I don't know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you<br>I've been waiting all my life  
>And now I found ya<br>I don't know what to do  
>I think I'm fallin' for you<br>I'm fallin' for you  
>I can't stop thinking about it<br>I want you all around me  
>And now I just can't hide it<br>I think I'm fallin' for you  
><em>

_ -Lyrcis and performed by Colby Caillat_

The past week had been anything but boring for Tundra, but even with the danger all around her, the land of the dinosaurs seemed to have lost something. Tundra didn't try to lie to herself, and ignore it or try to pass off a different reason for the emptiness she felt. She knew it was because she didn't see as much of Buck as before, but she tried to break herself away from him. Sure, they still spent time together, but it was always just a few hours each day. Nothing much, only time enough for a quick adventure and then back their separate ways. It wasn't awkward, but it did make living down below the ice a little lonely.

She was still trying to find the best time to tell Buck that it was time for her to leave and go home, but her heart wasn't in it as well. She knew she had to go sometime, and letting the chore go undone was like leaving an open sore alone and letting it get infected.

Plus Buck's marriage seemed to be back to its happy ways, and he didn't need her for support anymore. He didn't need her. He had never needed her before. In fact, if she didn't fall from the sky, perhaps his marriage wouldn't have been on the rocks in the first place and he would have been happy. He didn't need her. It was she that needed him, and all her feelings were her own fault. She had to leave or she would fall apart beginning with her heart.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Tundra jumped out of her thoughts to the sound of screaming echoing from the jungle. From her perch on a tree branch, she could hear the general direction of the screaming. For a brief second, she wondered at the screaming. As far as she knew, she was the only thing in the valley of the dinosaurs that actually screamed. There were growls, roars, calls, screeches, chirping and bawling, but no screaming from dinosaurs. Curiosity peeked, she grabbed a vine and swung away to find out what it was.

To her surprise, she found mammals. Two of them, and they were being chased by an adolescent raptor. The raptor, too small to be on its own but old enough to leave its mother when it felt like being naughty, chased what appeared to be two opossums in a very clumsy and uncoordinated way. It snapped at anything, sometimes crunching branches and leaves instead of flesh.

The opossums weren't much to look at themselves, scrambling around and yelling in fear without trying to climb a tree.

She laughed, thinking that that was her a few months prior.

Tundra found a vine of berries that Buck liked to use as ammunition when battling dinosaurs. The berries emitted a screen of smelly pollen, enough to obscure the dinosaur's vision and offend its olfactory senses, giving anyone enough time to sneak off without detection. She took a handful, and followed after the clumsy raptor quietly.

The two opossums dodged the best they could from the sharp teeth, their tails inches away from being clamped between razor edges. The raptor was closing in on them when a berry exploded in the side of its head, causing it to stop pursuing its prey and shake its head. Another berry came from a different direction and hit it in the side of its snout, causing it to cough from the smell.

Crash and Eddie stopped once they heard something different than snapping jaws, and smiled at the familiar berry pollen that distracted the raptor. A few more berries hit the raptor and it growled in irritation. The two opossums cheered as the predator backed up in confusion. Then Eddie pointed upward, and they saw a figure swinging from a vine toward them.

"It's Buck," Eddie said happily.

The figure threw berries all over the ground near the opossums, obscuring their vision and making them cough. Then they heard a voice say to them, "Are you two out of your minds? Run, for the love of eggs."

It was obviously not Buck.

Two paws came out from the pollen and grabbed one of the opossums before dragging them away quickly. The opossums allowed themselves to be lead away, running blindly through the yellow dust to safety. After a while, they could see a brownish-red tail and ears in front of them.

"Climb!" the female voice ordered them, and blue eyes turned on them with a look of determination and fear.

The two opossums did as they were told, not even thinking that they were letting a female mink order them around and stay behind as they fled to safety. When the two were high enough, they jumped onto a thick branch and sat down to rest. They looked down, and saw the young raptor rubbing its nose as it tried to find its prey. They laughed and stuck their tongues at the dinosaur as it lumbered off while snarling.

"Are you two stupid or something?" the female voice snapped at them, and paws slapped against their mouths. "Its pack could be nearby, and if they heard you we'd really be in trouble."

Crash and Eddie stopped laughing, and then turned to their rescuer. That's when they finally saw that she was a mink.

"Hey, you're Frost's cousin, aren't you?" Eddie asked, standing up.

The mink looked surprised at the name of her cousin, and after a while replied, "Yeah, I'm Tundra, Frost's cousin. What do you know about Frost?"

"We came down here to rescue you," Crash answered before his brother could. "And we succeeded. Yay!"

"We're so good," Eddie added, and punched his brother on the arm.

Tundra frowned. "You may want to rethink that 'rescue' thing when you can't even take care of yourselves," she told them. "How did you know I was down here in the first place? And how did you get down here?"

Crash and Eddie took turns interrupting the other to explain how Frost and Ellie tracked her scent to the hole in the ice, their plans to get down to the valley of the dinosaurs and meeting Frost. They had just started talking about how the three of them descended the rope when Tundra interrupted them.

"Whoa, Frost is down here?" she asked, grabbing the nearest brother by the shoulders. "Where is she?"

"We. . .uh. . .lost her. She's back there somewhere," Eddie admitted, pointing in the direction they were going before they ran into the raptor.

"You lost her? So she's by herself?" Tundra asked, looking frantic. "Get up, boys. We're going to find her now." Without loosing another minute, she was climbing back down the tree.

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to have met a weasel named Buck, would you?" Crash asked as the two opossums followed after her.

"You guys know Buck?"

"It's a long story," Eddie told her with a shrug.

"So, you know where he is?" Crash asked, his ears perked up.

"Not sure. He could be anywhere," Tundra said with a shrug. "Which direction again?"

Eddie pointed it out. "Maybe we should find him first, in case those raptors come back."

"Naw, that'll take too much time," Tundra said and started off at a quick march. "Besides, I can handle anything that we might run into. And if you stay quiet, we may not run into anything," she said, eying them with a deep frown.

Crash and Eddie remembered what Frost had told them of her timid, mild cousin, how Tundra had allowed even the younger cousins bully her around. Their image of Tundra was based on the thought of a princess mink that hadn't been out of the burrow in her entire life. They had in mind that from what Frost had told of her cousin, if she had survived the fall from the ice sky, Buck would probably have to protect her tooth and nail daily to keep her alive. It broke their bubble that they had found Tundra without Buck, expecting maybe the other way around.

"Uh, not to say you aren't capable enough," Crash said with a puffed out chest, "but I think it would be beneficial for us to find Buck."

Tundra turned around and glared at the two. She pulled out her knife.

The two opossums flinches as they saw the mink throw the knife at them. When Eddie opened his eyes, he could see the smoothed stone knife a claw's width away from his black nose. His eyes bulged. He was about to yell at Tundra for almost killing him when he saw what the knife had hit. Where it was imbedded in a tree trunk, it also skewered a large black scorpion that was poised to sink its poison swollen stinger at the opossum.

Tundra swaggered toward the opossums with a swing of her hips, and pulled the knife out of the trunk. She flipped the knife to relieve it of the arachnid body, then whipped off the innards with a fern frond. "I'm sure I can handle it, boys," she told them over her shoulder, and started off again.

The two opossums stood stunned for a while as they watched the mink walk off with her tail alert.

"Dude, I think I'm in love," Eddie whispered to his brother, still not moving.

"Are you sure?"

"I feel warm all over." Then Eddie looked down. "No, my mistake. I just lost my bladder control."

"Ew," Crash said with a roll his eyes, and pushed his brother. "Come on, before we get left behind."

* * *

><p>The little scavenger dinosaurs came closer, hungry eyes locked on the mammal in front of them. They hadn't seen anything with fur before, but it still looked like lunch to them.<p>

Frost reacted just like normal prey for the first few seconds, but then the shock of seeing her first dinosaurs wore off. "Oh no," she growled. "I didn't fall hundreds of feet just to end up as a snack for you prehistoric ninnies." She picked up a rock and chucked it at the nearest lizard.

The rock hit the lizard square in the head, stunning it before it fell to the ground unconscious. The other little dinosaurs backed off for a while, twitching their head back and forth, first examining their fallen comrade, then at the furry animal, then back to their comrade. It didn't take them long to figure out what should happen next.

Frost flinched as she saw the little dinosaurs start to eat the lizard she knocked out, certainly not expecting such barbaric behavior from even dinosaurs. She retreated away from the cannibalistic lizards slowly so not to catch their attention, intending to get as far away as possible before they finished off their friend. When she thought she was a good distance away, she picked up a couple of good sized rocks in each paw. They seemed to be a good enough weapon so far, and it was better than nothing.

But now what? From what she had seen from the ice sky, the valley was huge. And there was no telling if it went even further back. There was a good chance that Tundra would have left the area where she had fallen, but that was still a very large area, miles and miles to cover. She had no idea where to begin.

However she didn't have to think about it for long. Apparently, scavenger dinosaurs have very good memory and tracking skills when they are hungry. And only one friend couldn't feed all of them. She only walked a half a mile before the chirping came again.

Frost turned around quickly and threw one of the stones she had at the flock of chirping lizards. This time, it only hit one in the foot. The lizard was hurt, but it snapped at some of its companions for looking at it with hungry smiles. Frost threw her second one, and the lizards dodged, learning from their past mistakes. Frost back up and stepped on a stick. She picked it up, and kept it between her and the dinosaurs.

"Back! Back!" she shouted at the lizards while swinging it. The little dinosaurs kept their distance, but they were becoming more and more bolder. Frost started feeling scared, and wondered if she should just run. It sounded like a good idea. But first, she had to startle the dinosaurs a little.

The lizards jumped in surprise as the mammal ran at them screaming and swinging her stick. The wood hit a few of them and made the whole group swarm back, but it didn't make them hesitate long once they saw their curious prey run away at full speed. Once the group leader started off after Frost, the rest followed with hungry chirps.

Frost had never been so scared in her entire life. Sure, there were dangers back home, but if you stayed inside at night and kept an eye out for eagles, then it was no problem. She knew how the predators thought back home, but this was something completely foreign to her. She only hoped she could outrun them. A glance back proved that theory wrong, and she went to plan B. Up, as much as she hate to do it.

Running toward the nearest tree, Frost threw herself and the trunk and literally ran up a good few yards before slowing down to look at her pursuers. The little dinosaurs were confused at first about going up the tree, but after a few attempts, they started climbing up as well, although a little awkward due to their shorter front claws.

"For glaciers sake," Frost cursed, and went further up the tree. Halfway up the trunk, she noticed that some hard-shell nuts were growing in bunches on the tree. She jumped onto a branch and tried not to look down or vertigo would take her. She grabbed some of the nuts and started pelting the dinosaurs with them.

The barrage of ammunition was enough to hinder the dinosaurs, but not stop them. They continued climbing up to where the mink was.

"Crap!" Frost shouted when one of the dinosaurs scrambled onto her branch. Nuts wouldn't help her. She crawled further down the branch until she was sure if she took another step the thinner branches would break under her weight. She debated if it was better to die from the fall rather than be torn to bits.

Just as she contemplated suicide, a strange voice came from the jungle life.

"!" a howl called and was growing louder.

To the surprise of both mink and dinosaurs, a brown weasel with a green eye patch swung from a vine toward them. And then slammed his hind legs into the first dinosaur, knocking it off the tree. The weasel swung away, and then swung back to kick yet another dinosaur off.

By now, the dinosaurs were growing weary of this swinging mammal, and backed off.

The weasel abandoned his vine, and jumped onto the branch, a long knife in paw.

"Come on ya bloody chickens. Try a bite o' me," the weasel growled.

A few of the dinosaurs backed away, knocking some of the other dinosaurs in the process, but one bold one pushed itself to the front, and hissed at the weasel. After a few seconds staring each other down, the dinosaur attacked. The weasel easily dodged the snapping jaws, and after a minute of sparing, he slapped the dinosaur around with the flat of his knife, and finally booted it off the tree.

"Any more of the brave ones?" the weasel asked with a yell.

The rest of the pack couldn't get off the tree fast enough. They were scrambling, often knocking others to the ground or falling off themselves as they tried to get away as soon as possible. More than half of the pack was limping away from bumps and bruises.

"Didn't think so," the weasel said with chuckle. Buck turned around and was about to look over this new mammal in his territory with an appraising eye when he was seized by his collar fur and pulled down to look into the angry eyes of the rescued mink.

"Where is my cousin?" Frost growled at the weasel.

"Who?" Buck quickly asked, although he had an idea who she meant when he saw that the mink was indeed a mink.

"My cousin. She's a mink with reddish brown-fur, blue eyes and jumpy nerves. She fell down here about two months ago. Have you seen her?" Frost demanded. Although she looked threatening, inside she was scared. What if he hadn't seen her? Would that mean she was dead?

"Ah, you must mean Angel-girl," Buck said with a smile.

"No, her name is Tundra," Frost told the weasel, feeling disappointed.

"Aye, that's Angel alright. She's here, safe and sound," Buck said congenially, even though the mink hadn't let go of his fur. "At least, last time I saw her, this morning. Anything could happen during that time."

"What?" Frost shouted, and shook the weasel violent. "She better be alright, you creep, or I'll turn you into a hat."

Buck slapped the mink's paws away from his fur, and took a step back. "Keep your whiskers on, crazy. I'm sure she's fine. She knows what she's doing."

Frost glowered at the weasel. "I'm not crazy! If you've been around Tundra, you know she couldn't take care of herself here. Is she somewhere safe?"

"Probably not," Buck said with a shrug, and gave her a wild grin. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's with Rudy. I heard him yowling a while ago."

"Who's Rudy?" Frost asked, frowning at the weasel's grin. She found it creepy.

Buck's expression turned dark even though he was still grinning. "Rudy is the king of the dinosaurs here. It's his laws in this jungle, and we're the outlaws. He's been hunting for weeks even if he's not hungry. He's looking for blood."

Frost's fur stood out, and she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"But I'm sure Tundra's fine," Buck finished on a lighter note. He didn't notice the white mink's attack until her fist connect with his cheek.

"You jerk! How could you let her get that close to danger?" Frost shouted as she aimed her other fist at the weasel, but hit air as Buck dodged it. "What kind of male are you to let her go wondering around this place by herself?" She finished her sentence with a few words that shouldn't come from a lady's mouth.

"Whoa, crazy. Stop it," Buck ordered as he backed away from Frost's multiple attacks. Finally, he caught one of her fists, and swept one of his legs behind her's to trip her. He was careful not to let Frost fall full on her back. Tundra might not be happy with him if he let her cousin get hurt. He made sure Frost could stand by herself before letting her go and stepping back. "I've seen that mink that fell from the sky two months ago, and that's not the same mink today. Your cousin has changed a lot since you last saw her."

"That better mean she's still in one piece," Frost growled with a glare. "And stop calling me crazy."

"Well, stop acting crazy, crazy," Buck told her. "Your cousin is fine."

"Then take me to her," Frost demanded, and stood up straight.

Buck rubbed the back of his head, and looked around. "Well, that may be better said then done. Ya see, I'm not entirely sure where she is right now, exactly. She's pretty fast, so she could be anywhere now."

Frost groaned, feeling a headache coming on. And speaking of headaches.

"Oh, I forgot about them," she said to herself, thinking of the two responsible for being down in the dinosaur valley. "I came down here to find my cousin, but I didn't come alone. There were two opossums, but we got separated on our way down."

"Opossums?" Buck asked with a quick turn of his head. "Did you say opossums?"  
>"Yeah. They came down here looking for a friend of theirs. You wouldn't be Bill, would you?" Frost asked as she tried to remember the name Crash and Eddie had given her.<p>

"The name's Buckminster. Or Buck for short," the weasel said.

"That was the name, Buck," Frost said with a snap of her digits.

"Hmmm, where did you lose them?" Buck asked, rubbing his chin.

"Well, they kind of lost me," Frost told him and looked around. "They were still on the pterodactyl going in. . .that direction."

"Then we better get going," Buck said, and grabbed a vine to climb down the tree.

By this time, Frost completely forgot that she was high up in a tree. But she didn't want the weasel to find out how much she was scared of heights, and followed after him with her eyes half closed. When she was on the ground, she followed after the weasel as he started to walk off. "Hey, why are we going after them? We need to find my cousin."

"I've told you, your cousin is fine. She can take care of herself. It's those lads I'm worried about," Buck told the mink, and pulled out his knife to hack at the vegetation.

Frost frowned. "They should be fine too. They said they can handle themselves down here," Frost told him.

Buck glance over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "And you believed them?"

Frost realized her mistake and hit her forehead with her paw. "If those two are still alive, I'm going to kill them."

Buck chuckled. "Then we better hurry then. Rudy may beat you to it, Snowball."

"My name is Frost," she told him. Frost frowned. _What is with this guy? Does he think everything is funny? Or just the idea of running into danger?_ "Okay, lead the way _Buckminster_," she carefully pronounced the weasel's name.

"Buck's good for now, Snowball," Buck told her.

"Good for you, but you shouldn't talk in the third person, Bucky," Frost was quick to reply.

Buck went over the conversation in his mind to figure out what the mink meant while Frost avoided looking at the weasel as she walked by looking at the plant-life.

"So, how is Tundra doing?" Frost asked. She didn't like the weasel, but she wanted to know what has been happening with her cousin.

"I told you, she's fine," Buck snapped at her, tired of answering that same question.

"No, I meant is she happy? What has she been doing?"

Buck shrugged. "I'll let her answer that. She can tell you better than I can," Buck said, and then touched his jaw. "Besides, I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll punch me again."

Frost crossed her arms and frowned. "If you don't tell me anything, I may just punch you anyway."

"Are you sure you're Tundra's cousin?"

"Keep marching, Buttmuncher."

"Okay, crazy."

* * *

><p>"So, all this time you've been down here, you've been learning from Buck how to survive?" Crash asked in disbelief.<p>

"Yeah, pretty much," Tundra told them as she looked around wearily.

"You must be the luckiest mammal on earth," Eddie commented with awe.

Tundra laughed. "Maybe," she said. "Or maybe the unluckiest."

"But you got to learn from the greatest weasel ever to live. He's more awesome than food and pranks combined," Eddie told her with a serious face.

That made Tundra laugh even more. "Yeah, I guess he is. But being his apprentice isn't as fun as you would think. It was a lot of hard work and I almost died a million times over. I almost quit a few times."

"Why?" the two opossums asked as one.

Tundra spoke quieter. "When I first came here, I was really weak. I had never been far from my burrow before. I guess I was still like a newborn, I couldn't defend myself. I was scared all the time. It almost seems ridiculous that I wanted Buck to teach me. But there was something about him that was so confident, and I wanted to be like that. I wanted to change, and somehow he knew exactly what I needed." Tundra smiled to herself. "Now, because of him, I'm the way I am. I've changed so much. Maybe Frost won't recognize me. I'm not that timid little mink anymore."

"I'll say," Crash said, and looked her up and down. When Tundra turned her head to look at him, he kept his eyes to himself. "That is, Frost talked about you a lot. That's why we didn't believe you before."

"Understandable," Tundra told them. "I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't live through the last two months."

"Do you think Buck would do the same for us?" Eddie asked, his eyes bright.

"I hope he does," Crash said before Tundra could open her mouth. "This is going to be so cool."

And the opossums became so involved in talking about adventures with Buck that they completely forgot about the mink who only rolled her eyes.

"Boys," she muttered.

Suddenly a deep roar rang through the air, and when it died down, a lot of the bird and insect calls died down to a cold silence.

Crash and Eddie pressed against each other in a fearful embrace.

"Is that who I think it is?" Eddie asked, remembering their last visit to the dinosaur world.

"Yeah, it's Rudy," Tundra said, and she frowned. "He sounds like he's found something, and he's in front of us."

"Could it be Frost?" Crash asked.

Tundra's eyes opened wide. "I hope not," she said in a soft voice. "Come on, we're going to move fast."

The two opossums hesitated as the mink charged into the jungle. As they followed, pushing themselves to keep up with the surprisingly fast mink, they couldn't help thinking that this wasn't going to be the fun part of the visit.

* * *

><p>"What is that thing?" Frost screamed as she ran away with Buck pulling her along.<p>

"That is Rudy," Buck shouted back.

Frost couldn't believe the size of the dinosaur. How could anything grow to be that big? It looked like something from a nightmare. And Tundra had been living down here for two months?

"That's a stupid name. He's not even red," Frost shouted, not even thinking about how stupid her words sounded in the situation.

Buck ignored the mink, and pushed her in front of him. "Keep going, I'll stay behind and distract him."

"Yeah, go ahead and tell me another one," Frost snapped at him. However, she was completely surprised that the weasel meant every word he said as he left her to charge toward the giant beast. She almost forgot to keep running as she watched with her mouth open as Buck taunted Rudy. Waking up a little, she retreated to a safer distance, feeling awful about leaving Buck even if she didn't like him. But that all changed when she heard whoops and hollering that sounded happy. She was confused. When she was a safe distance away, she found a large rock to climb on and watch the scene from a distance.

It was very surreal to see the large dinosaur turn in large circles as he chased Buck around, roaring and snarling in anger as his target evading him time and time again.

"That's Buck!"

"Rudy's still alive!"

Frost recognized the two voices as they shouted. She looked around, and saw some plant-life moving close by. From the foliage came a reddish-brown mink followed by two opossums.

"Tundra?" Frost said quietly as she recognized her cousins.

"You two stay back while I go help Buck. Stay back," Tundra ordered the opossums in a very un-Tundra-like voice. She then pulled out a stone knife and headed toward Buck and Rudy.

Frost blinked a few times. Was that really Tundra? What was Tundra doing with a knife? And why was she going to help Buck? Could that really be her cousin?

She jumped off the rock, and headed toward the two opossums.

"Frost?"

"You're okay!"

Frost looked at them in a stupor, her eyes glazed over. "Yeah. Was that just. . .?"

"We found your cousin. And Buck," Crash said excitedly. "Isn't this awesome?"

"Oh, your cousin is so cool. She came swooping out of the air on a vine, and totally pawned this raptor," Eddie told Frost excitedly and continued to describe Tundra's rescue.

"Lets get closer to watch."

"Yeah. This'll be cool."

Before Frost could stop them, the two opossums ran closer to the large dinosaur. The white mink growled in frustration before she stomped after them. Once again, she let those two idiots take her into danger, but she couldn't let them die. Ellie would probably miss them. She caught up to them, and grabbed their hairless tails.

"Do you dofuses want to die? Stay," Frost ordered. She didn't need to watch over two more mammals. Then she started running toward the fray.

"And where are you going?" Crash asked with crossed arms.

"I'm going to get Tundra. She's in trouble," Frost said with an angry tone.

"Dude, the one who is in trouble here is Rudy," Eddie said, and pointed at the roaring dinosaur. "He has to contend with Buck _and_ Tundra."

"Yeah, that girl can take care of herself," Crash added. "You should have seen what she did to this raptor we ran into. It was awesome."

Then the two jumped into an exaggerated version of their adventure.

Frost was half listening as she watched the pale dinosaur in the distance. It was turning around in frustrated circles, its head swinging all over as if it couldn't decided where trouble was coming from. Then Rudy bit his tail, and then roared in pain, having missed his prey.

Frost felt strange. That wasn't like her cousin at all. She was expecting to find Tundra afraid and ready to return home. She was suppose to rescue her, not the other way around. Could what Buck and the opossums told her be true? Could her cousin really have changed so much in the past two months? It didn't seem possible. But Frost remembered the adventurous side of her cousin, how they would play snow pirates and pretend to hunt sabors. While it had all been play, did it reveal what Tundra was really like? Did her cousin only needed the chance of falling into the dangerous world to open up to her true self?

Frost sighed, her old image of her cousin shattering. And then she smiled to herself.

_Interesting._

After a few more attempts, Rudy roared in defeat and stormed away, not wanting to give the two mammals the satisfaction that they chased him away, he tried to take his time. After a while, the large lizard faded from sight.

The two opossums whooped and cheered, whistling and shouting insults to Rudy.

"That'll teach him to mess with Buck," Crash said, and he bumped chests with his brother.

Frost ignored them, and waited to see her cousin come out of the foliage. She didn't have to wait long. She came out prancing and talking with wild gestures, followed by Buck. She seemed to be describing the battle with the large dinosaur, and laughing about it. Actually laughing about danger. Buck sauntered along with her, laughing and talking to Tundra in a familiar way. Frost supposed they must know each other pretty well by now. They had been in each other for company for quite some time.

As they approached, Buck tapped Tundra on the shoulder, and then pointed at Frost. The mink looked at Buck, and then followed his paw.

The mink screamed ecstatically, and ran to her cousin. Frost came forward and braced herself as Tundra threw her arms around her. Then the two started talking simultaneously, both responding to questions while asking more in a whirling of words.

"Do you two lads understand any of that?" Buck asked as he watched the two minks.

"BUCK!" the opossums shouted, distracted by the minks to realized the weasel walked up to them. They threw their arms around his waist.

"We missed you so much."

"You're our hero."

"Please teach us to be as awesome as you."

"Ah, that's so cute. You have a fan club," Tundra said with a big grin.

Buck had mixed feelings about being hero worshiped by the opossums and then being teased for it by Tundra. In the end, he pushed the boys away and cleared his throat.

"It's nice to see you lads again," he said with dignity. Then he turned to Frost. "And as you can see, your cousin is safe and sound, as I promised you."

"You found Frost. Thank you Buck," Tundra said, and grabbed his paw with a big smile, thinking he was talking to her. "I'm so glad nothing happened to her. Thank you."

"No problem," Buck said with a smile, looking down at his paw that Tundra held. "Uh, perhaps we should head on out. You two have a lot to catch up on, so we should go some place where we won't be interrupted by anymore 'guests'." Buck pulled away from Tundra's grasp, and started off into the jungle with his knife cutting away the plant life.

"Oh, good idea. I can't wait to show you my place, Frost," Tundra said with a large smile. "And I have so much to tell you. I've had such an adventure."

Frost smiled back contentedly.

The two opossums noticed.

"She's smiling!" Crash said in unbelief.

"Whoa, that's so crazy," Eddie added, and the two of the gawked at Frost.

"Knock it off, you weirdos," Frost told them, and her angry face returned.

Tundra laughed. "Oh, you poor boys. Now you'll never get to see Frost rare smile ever again."

Frost looked indignant. "I'm not like that."

Tundra teased her cousin. "Do you know what my brothers always said about you? The day you smile would be the day the world would end."

Frost glowered. "I smile all the time. I do!"

"I've never seen it before," Crash told her.

"It was kind of scary," Eddie said with a laugh.

Frost's frown deepened as they laugh at her, and then she shrugged it off with a smirk. "See, I'm smiling now."

"That's even scarier," Eddie said, not laughing anymore.

Tundra bent over laughing, hugging her stomach and had to stop walking. "Ha ha ha. You'll never get a boyfriend like that Frost, except for a wolverine."

"I already did," Frost said as she lifted her head in a joking way. "He dumped me and said he was looking for someone a little friendlier."

Tundra grinned, feeling familiar at their old jokes. "Then I guess you'll have to find a wolf or a bear that's your type."

"Oh, I can't do that. They won't match with my coat," Frost said in a snooty tone.

"Darling, everything goes with white. Eh heh," Tundra said, and laughed in a haughty manner.

The opossums looked lost at the two minks talking in a way they didn't understand. Their words kept getting stranger and stranger until they had no idea what was going on. However, Eddie made an attempt.

"Maybe you should ask Rudy out," the opossums suggested with a grin.

Frost looked down at the opossum with a blank look, and Eddie thought she was going to say something angry at him. But then she smiled smugly.

"Oh, I'm sure he'd be a divine date," the white mink said in a haughty manner.

"Really he will. Your parents would love him," Tundra continued to play along. "And you two absolutely match. Oh, but you couldn't have a white wedding, especially after Labor Day."

"Oh, fax paus," Frost said with her paw to her mouth in an impish way.

The two continued to talk jokingly, and then moved on to other subjects, which the opossums quickly joined in where they were most familiar. They talked of their adventures and meeting new people, how Tundra learned to survive in the wild and how the three other mammals experimented and caught a pterodactyl to ride all the way down to the valley.

The only one who didn't say a word was Buck, who led them on in silence.

Before they went to Tundra's tree, they gathered some fruits and nuts for a meal. When they got up to her branch, she continued to talk and talk, keeping the attention of her cousin locked on her. Even the opossums were fascinated by her narration of how she transformed from a trembling, scared mink to who she was today. She still admitted to being afraid of things, but it was hard to imagine it after seeing her battle the large dinosaur.

Buck kept silent for the most part, which was very uncharacteristic of him. But the others didn't seem to notice, so he didn't bother. He had something on his mind that bothered him. And it bothered him more that it bothered him.

For two whole months, Tundra had been down here in the valley with only him for company. She didn't seem to care that he was her only company, and it was nice for him to have someone else besides his wife and himself to talk to. However, now he saw how quickly Tundra picked up her life with her cousin, talking like those two months never happen. She even laughed at the opossums jokes and bantered with them. Her smile and laugh were so familiar to him, and the way she acted was how she acted around him. And that bothered him.

He felt dark feelings inside of him because they were making her laugh instead of him. He wasn't the only one who got to see her smile. He wasn't the only one in her life anymore. He now had to share her, and for some reason, he didn't want to do that.

And he couldn't figure out why.

"Ooo, we should take them flying on the butterflies tomorrow," Tundra said after telling them about how she caught her first butterfly and flew by herself a few weeks ago. "It's fun Frost. I promise, its not that scary. How about it, Buck? Doesn't that sound fun?"

Blue eyes rounded on him, and he didn't respond right away. Tundra came closer, almost nose to nose.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Uh. . .yeah. That sounds great, Angel," Buck said after clearing his throat. "I suppose they'll want the complete tour of the place before you all return back above the ice." He regretted his words as they escaped his mouth.

"Return. . . Yeah, since Frost came all this way to find me, I guess it is time for me to leave," Tundra said, her voice a little sad.

Frost was in the middle of eating a strange piece of fruit while she was watching her cousin and that weasel. Only knowing Buck for a few hours, she didn't pick up on his strange behavior, but she immediately heard the depression in her cousin's voice. With slitted eyes, she watched the two, how they acted together and talked to each other. She chewed on the fruit pulp like a cow would her cud while contemplating what was going on there. She could see that there was something deeper there, but how deep? What did these two think of each other? Tundra had told of her adventures in this world, but there were times when Tundra stuttered over her words as if omitting some things. There were holes that she left out. What else happened in those two months?

"Well, I. . .better get home," Buck said quickly, and moved away from the group, slowly gliding back to his old swaggering self. "The little woman at home is probably wondering where I am. Can't keep her waiting?"

"You're married?" Frost blurted out in surprise, and then completely erased whatever she was thinking of Buck and Tundra's relationship. "Oh, I mean, that's nice. I had the impression that you two were the only ones down here. . .besides the dinosaurs that is," Frost finished lamely. However, she felt relieved about her cousin. She didn't like Buck very much, he was a little off balance.

"Yeah, sure," Buck said, and smiled widely. "You should all come over for dinner tomorrow. I'm sure she'd love to have some company for a change."

Suddenly, Tundra's smile looked slightly fake, and she looked a lot like her mother. "Great. That sounds like fun too."

The opossums kept quiet as Buck left, their faces full of confusion. They remembered something Buck had said during their last visit, but half of the stuff Buck said was utter nonsense, so they disregarded it as just Buck's wild imagination. But after this conversation, they remembered what Buck had said, and had a blank look on their faces as they tried to imagine what Buck's world was like. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, plans go awry in the land of the dinosaurs, and the next morning, Buck came to Tundra's tree to guide all of the mammals to where the giant butterflies were. When they arrived, both Tundra and Buck were surprised that not a single insect was around.<p>

"They should be around here," Buck said, and turned over a fern leaf to look under it.

"Could they be somewhere else?" Tundra asked, looking around the large flowers the butterflies loved to sit on to drink the nectar.

Buck thought about it. "Well, it is close to their migration season. They could have headed out early."

"Migrate? To where?" Frost asked with a tired look on her face. "This place couldn't have seasons, it's so hot down here."

"They like to lay their eggs above the Chasm of Death where they're protected," Buck said with a smile. "That should be a nice stroll."

Frost was the only one who reacted to the name "Chasm of Death" and looked at Buck strangely. Then she looked to Tundra and then the opossums, but neither of them seemed to think anything of following Buck there. "Really? The Chasm of Death? Maybe we should skip that and go to the Pit of Horrible Pain."

"It's just a name," Tundra whispered to her cousin. "They sound worse than they really are."

"So, this Chasm of Death, it's like a little crack in the ground we hop over or what?" Frost asked.

Tundra shrugged. "I've never been there. But I'm sure its safe. Buck wouldn't take us somewhere he didn't think we could handle."

Frost looked at the weasel with concern. Buck acted like his head was full of acorns, but Frost also trusted Tundra's judgment. However, she wondered which of her beliefs was going to prove wrong first. "It sounds like you trust him a whole lot."

"I do. With my life," Tundra said with a smile.

Frost didn't say any more. She had never seen her cousin full of more confidence, not even when they playing snow pirates years ago, and this Buck seemed to be the source. Frost would be lying if she denied being jealous of the weasel. She had prided herself in helping Tundra along as far as she had, but Buck had helped to a whole new level. If Tundra hadn't come down here, Frost was sure she'd never have come out of her shell.

Just who was this weasel? Frost thought to herself. Who was he that could turn a scared, introvert like Tundra and make her so happy? Then she thought to give him the benefit of the doubt, and follow him. She was curious what he was exactly.

As the cousins stayed behind, the opossums ran to the front with Buck.

"Are we going inside the chasm?" Eddie asked, remembering their time in the green gas.

"Nah, you'd only go inside if you wanted to get to the Plates of Woe," Buck told them with a wave of his paw. "We're going above it, up the side of the mountain. It'll take some time, but if the butterflies are up there, we can ride them back home just in time for dinner."

Crash and Eddie had mixed feelings about the Chasm of Death. While they were led to believe the gas in the chasm was poisonous, they learned the Buck had lied to them. He had said it was for their own protection, however. The gas wouldn't have killed them, but it caused them to forget inhibition, and let loose. Laughter was the first side-effect, followed by what they called "word vomit". In other words, they spoke whatever was on their mind, including stuff they would never have said in that situation. And at the time, it was hilarious. They had the feeling that everything was just dandy, and everything was a joke. That is, until you left the gas behind, and then it became awkward and embarrassing. Buck told them that if they stayed in the gas too long, they would either literally die from laughter, suffocate, or they would be so convinced that nothing could hurt them they would do something stupid that would most likely kill themselves. Probably the best way to go, if suicide was your only choice.

But in the end, the two opossums were relieved they didn't have to go into the chasm itself. Who knows what they would say or do when on the gas once more.

"Step quickly, mammals. We're almost there," Buck called back, and pointed to the approaching mountain that sluggishly spread itself further, thus creating the cave-like chasm. "We'll have to climb the rest of the way. The butterflies stay near the summit to keep away predators."

The climb was tough for the new comers. While the white mink and opossums were in good condition, they weren't prepared for such rigorous activity that Tundra and Buck were conditioned to do after several life threatening experiences per day. The two helped their friends further up the mountain, but near the end, even Tundra was slowing down.

"Perhaps, we should take a break. It looks like there's a ledge up there," Tundra suggested as she helped her cousin find paw holds along the rocky slope.

"Good idea," Buck said. He had been letting the two opossums hang onto his tail for a while, and was feeling tired himself. "It'll be nice to have a break."

The last few feet of their journey took them a while, but finally they were able to haul each other up to the ledge and collapse in exhaustion. While they rested, Buck pointed out they didn't have far to go. They could all see the giant butterflies flitting around, some floating in the breeze, and more and more flying up to the summit.

It was Tundra who heard the noise. She noticed the ledge continued on around the mountain in a bend, and slowly walked around to keep her legs from cramping up. However, her ears pricked up when she heard a familiar snuffling. Easing to the mountain edge, she did her best to peer around the corner without being noticed. To her surprise, she found a raptor sharing the same ledge with them. With a squeak, she ducked back behind her corner, and slowly tiptoed back to the group.

"We have to get out of here now," Tundra whispered to her friends and told them what she saw.

"It seems our tour is cut short, mammals. Please move to the nearest exit," Buck said, and moved to the ledge. However, he quickly back away as soon as he saw the triangular head and rising crest of a rock raptor, a specific species that preferred to live in the Plates of Woe rather than the jungle.

There was a loud, girly scream, and everyone turned to look at Eddie.

"Sorry," he apologized while he held onto his brother.

"Tundra, get them all out of here," Buck ordered and pulled out his knife. "I'll deal with our friend here."

The mink quickly acted on Buck's order, and grabbed Frost and Crash with a hand letting the opossum pull his brother behind him. Without even thinking, she jumped off the ledge and started running down the steep slope. It wasn't steep enough that they were falling, but one trip or if they tried to stop, then they would find themselves tumbling the rest of the way down. It was the only plan she could think of on the fly. However, she didn't think they would encounter any more raptors until one rammed its head into the middle of the group.

Tundra felt herself go flying, and held onto the two paws she had tightly. She felt Frost use her other paw to grab her around the waist and heard Crash yell his brother's name. She kept her eyes open even though her old self wanted to shut them very tightly, and saw that they weren't very high in the air. She braced for impact, and realized that once they dropped, they would roll down the mountain. There was no way they were going to get out of this without major injuries, especially if they kept holding onto her.

However, she didn't have much time to act before they impacted against the ground. And to her surprised, they kept falling.

* * *

><p>Buck heard the cry from below, and was able to punch the raptor hard enough to stun it and run to the edge. He was stunned to see that all but Eddie had disappeared. The opossum was clinging to the back of one of the raptors while it spun in a circle trying to bite him. Another raptor was trying to do the same, but its fellow predator was spinning too quickly for it to do anything.<p>

"Hang on, lad. I'm comin'," Buck shouted, and jumped down to run directly at the raptors. He ran as fast as he could, and rammed his little body against the second raptor. The lizard didn't expect it, and tottered onto its side then rolled all the way down the mountain. Buck then dug his claws into the side of the mountain to prevent himself from following, and then turned to the other raptor. With a quick flick of his wrist, he sliced the front of the raptor's foot, causing it to fall to the ground. Normally, he didn't like hurting the dinosaurs more than he needed to; it added to his excitement. But things were different when someone else was involved.

Buck grabbed the opossum and pulled him away before the raptor started to roll down the slope.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Buck shouted, and pulled the opossum.

"But what about the others," Eddie called in a worried voice.

As they ran, Buck looked around quickly. He could see more raptors coming up the slope after him, but there were two that didn't seem interested in the weasel. They were hovering over a hole in the side of the mountain.

"They'll be fine. Angel-girl can take care of them," Buck said, and ran even harder. "She's capable enough to get them all out of there just fine."

* * *

><p>It was dark all around, and Tundra could feel herself bruised all over. There was something heavy on her, and it started to move.<p>

"Eddie?" Crash called out in the dark.

"Get off of me," Tundra muttered, and tried to wiggle away from the weight.

"Who's foot is in my face?" Frost's voice grumbled.

The three disentangled themselves from one another. While the other two grumbled about their aches, Tundra quickly looked up to the circle of light above them. It wasn't too far up, they could probably get out easily. But then she saw something cover up the hole.

"Get back!" Tundra called, and pushed her companions away just as the raptor snout pushed into the hole, snapping. They moved away, until they met a wall which wasn't far from the sharp teeth.

"What do we do?" Crash asked.

Frost, who's been used to tunnels more than the other two, felt a draft. "It feels like there's another way out of here. Come on."

The three hung onto each other as they stumbled through the dark until their eyes could adjust. They didn't notice it at first, but the ground was sloping downward, and eventually, the decline was very steep. They made their way carefully, helping each other move forward. Frost, who was leading away, called back when she saw light, thinking that they were coming to the exit. But neither noticed a strange smell filling up the tunnel, and that it was growing stronger as they went.

Crash was at the very end of the group, and was the last to smell the incoming air. It smelled familiar, and it took him a while to place it. "We're near the Chasm of Death. Don't breathe guys."

"That's stupid," Frost snapped at him. "We need to breathe air or else we'll die."

"It's the gas. It does stuff to you," Crash told them, thinking that this wasn't the time or the place for them to feel the effects of the gas. But his voice wasn't changing, so maybe it wasn't strong enough. "Just try not to breathe too much in, and keep going."

The two minks shrugged, and continued on. Soon, the tunnel opened up more, and they found the source of the light. Part of the tunnel's wall had broken away to reveal an open chasm. Green smoke radiated from below, and on the far side they saw an opening to the outside.

"Look," Frost said, who spotted the cave opening. "It looks like the path winds around the cave, and we can make it to the other side."

Tundra starred at her cousin, since the white mink's voice started getting higher the longer she talked. "What's the matter with your voice?" she asked, and then noticed it was happening to her as well.

The two started giggling as one, hands over their mouths like little children who had just played a practical joke.

Crash backed away as he saw the effects of the gas on the minks. As harmless as the gas seemed, it could become dangerous very fast as those that inhale the gas feel no need to do anything else but laugh. He kept his mouth covered as he pushed the minks forward, thinking that their best bet was to keep going. If he could keep from laughing, perhaps he could get the two females away safely.

"Hey, Tundra. Let's yell dirty words," Frost suggested in her high voice, a look of pure crazy on her face.

"Oh, oh. I know. Farts," Tundra shouted and let it echo around the chasm before snorting into her paws.

"Tee hee. Butts," Frost shouted fearlessly.

"You're such a bad girl," Tundra said in between fits of laughter.

The two were now leaning against each other from weakness. They continued to laugh hysterically as Crash pushed them from behind, guiding them along the path.

"Ah, what's the matter, Crashy? Don't get the joke?" Frost asked, looking at the opossum.

"I think you embarrassed him, Frost. He's offended by your liberal ways," Tundra told her, and the two started laughing again even though it wasn't funny.

Even as he tried to keep from breathing too much, Crash could start to feel the effects of the gas on him. He started chuckling at nothing at all, and finally, he burst out into gut-retching laughter. The girls cheered him on, and soon the three of them were yelling at the top of their lungs the names of body parts and swear words that they would never say around their mothers, laughing as naughty children would do.

"You know who we sound like? My old granny," Tundra said to her cousin. She scrunched her face up in an old person way. "You're gonna to die with your guts on the outside."

The three found this hilarious.

"Do you know what she told me the first time I met her?" Frost asked, remembering Tundra's paternal grandmother with giggles. "She said I was going to die an old wrinkled bat, alone, with nobody. I you know what, she's probably right. Nobody's ever going to want to be with me."

Frost laughed harder than anyone at this.

"That is so true," Tundra said. "You're such a man-hater."

"I know. I'm such a witch, nobody can stand me."

Crash jumped in. "You're scarier than a shrew."

"Pushy."

"Controlling."

"Demanding."

"Temperamental."

"Hell-raiser."

"That's right," Frost agreed.

And they all collapsed in a pile with laughter.

"At least you two are attractive," Crash said, with tears in his eyes. "I can't get a girl to so much as look at me unless I push her into a pond."

"Well, maybe that's what you should do," Tundra told him. "That'd be hilarious."

"I did," Crash told her, leaning against her as his stomached ached from all the laughing. "She nearly flayed me alive."

"That's so mature of you," Frost said sarcastically and sunk closer to the ground as her strength started to ebb from the mirth.

"Not only that, but sometimes, I wet the bed," Crash admitted.

Suddenly the laughter stopped, first from the minks then from Crash.

"Really?"

"Um. . .yes."

Peals of laughter rang through the cavern again.

"That is so uncool."

"You do have a problem there."

"I know."

Tundra then tried to sit up as straight as she could. "I have you all beat. I'm the most unlucky mammal when it comes to love."

"Booooo," Frost called with her paws on the sides of her mouth. "Your fake wedding beats nothin'."

"No, that's not it at all," Tundra said, trying to sound serious. "I'm in love with Buck."

There was another pause in the laughter before they started off again, roaring loudly at Tundra's announcement.

"That lunatic. Oh man, that's awful," Frost told her. "How could you fall in love with him?"

"Are you kidding?" Crash asked her from the other side of Tundra. "If I was a girl, I'd totally fall for him too."

Without that gas, the minks would have found that hilarious, but now they were so handicapped by their own glee that they couldn't move a single inch.

"Isn't he married?" Frost asked as she heaved for breath.

"Yeah, and that's the weird part. His wife is. . .is. . .," Tundra couldn't say it, it was too funny. "And he doesn't even realize it, so he just keeps acting the same."

"You're such a home-wrecker," Frost told her.

"You tart," Crash added.

"Hussy."

Tundra laughed, and wondered why she thought this was so funny. Was this the proper response to this? At this point, she didn't care one way or another.

"You know what you should do," Frost started to say. "You should totally tell him about your fiance back home. You know, to see if he gets jealous."

Crash put a paw to his mouth. "Oh, scandalous," he said. He learned that from some of the female opossums he had tried to ask out. It seemed like the right thing to say.

"I will. And then I'll kiss Crash," Tundra said.

"Oooo la la," Frost said with a whistle. "You are a slut."

"I don't mind," Crash said. "You can kiss me as much as you want in front of Buck. You just make him as jealous as you want."

That sent the minks into reels of laughter. Eventually, Frost tried to stand up.

"Come on. No time like the present to do that," Frost told them and tottered around as she tried to keep her balance. "Let's move."

Tundra accepted some help from Frost to get to her feet, and the two almost fell off the cliff which they found very funny, laughing at their almost death before helping Crash up before continuing their journey through the chasm.

* * *

><p>Buck and Eddie ran away back down the mountain, easily loosing the raptors once they hid in the vegetation. The rock raptors weren't used to tracking their prey since they could spot anything that moved through the Plates of Woe. As soon as it was safe enough, Buck explained to Eddie that they were going back for the others. Eddie was keen about this plan. Here they were, Buck and Eddie, working together to save the innocent. He couldn't think of a better dream than this.<p>

However, that plan fell into the water when they passed the opening of the Chasm of Death, and heard the echoes of voices. While they couldn't hear what was said, it was obvious that the high laughter could only be their missing friends.

"Oh, not again," Buck said as he tromped to the cavern opening looking worried. "What is with you tourists and the Chasm of Death."

"What's wrong with it? It just makes you laugh," Eddie told him. "You lied to us and told it was toxic."

"It is," Buck said emphatically. "After prolonged exposure, it can kill ya. Thus called the Chasm of _Death_."

Eddie looked horrified as he thought back at his last experience in the Chasm. He had almost laughed to death. "Then we need to get them out of there."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Buck said. They were now at the edge of the chasm, and he looked around. After a while, he saw along the cave walls movement, and he was able to make out the three missing mammals slowly and drunkenly making their way along a crumbling path.

"Hurry up or you're all gonna die," he shouted at them.

High voices came back to him.

"What he say?"

"He says we're gonna die."

"Oh, is that all."

Laughter filled the cave.

"Stop that laughing!" Buck ordered them.

"Hear that. He says to stop laughing."

"Ooooo, that's Buck's rule number one."

"What? Stop laughing."

"No. It's 'Always listen to Buck'."

And that started off again with the laughter.

Buck's shoulders sagged. He hated this part. However, he did notice they were still coming forward slowly. He looked at the path, and saw it stopped a few feet away from the cave's entrance. They would have to jump quite a leap to get to safety. He moved to a place where he could help them. However, they were now huddled together with conspiratorial whispers.

Tundra was pushed forward, all three of them trying to sustain their laughter. "Guess what Buck?" the reddish brown mink shouted. "I have a fiance and I'm gonna get married."

Crash and Frost cheered and whooped before they all started laughing again.

Buck knew the effects of the gas, and decided this was just nonsense. So he started humoring them. "Oh, is that right, Angel?" he said, watching them carefully, wondering if he should try to bring them all back one at a time. How long would it take before he started laughing? "Are you going to marry Crash?"

"Nooooo," Tundra said childishly. "Well, maybe later."

There was much "ooooooo" and laughter from that.

"Well, why don't you come over here and tell me about it?" Buck asked, gesturing for the group to come forward.

They started back down the path, laughing harder if they stumbled or came closer to the edge. Both Buck and Eddie were on the edges of their nerves as they watched them make it to the edge of the path.

"You're going to have to jump one at a time, and I'll help you," Buck told them, holding out his paw.

"Oh oh, me first," Crash exclaimed, and pushed to the front. "Catch me, Buck."

Tundra and Frost burst into fits as they saw the opossum launch himself at the weasel with open arms and a big grin on his face. Buck grabbed Crash by his arm, and pulled him the rest of the way, shoving him at his brother with instructions to take him out to the fresh air.

"Okay, next," Buck said anxiously.

Tundra bowed to her cousin. "After you my dear."

"Oh, I wouldn't think of it. After you."

"But I insist, after you."

Then the two chortled in a haughty manner before bursting out laughing in each other's arms.

"Someone please jump," Buck shouted at them angrily.

Frost gave Tundra a look. "Geez, he's really pushy," Frost said before taking a few steps back to give herself enough speed for the leap. She didn't need much help, just Buck's hand to steady her as she landed. He then directed her to where Eddie was with a helpful push, hoping the laughing mink would make her way.

"Okay, Angel. Your turn," Buck said, and readied himself to catch her. However, his eyes grew wide when he noticed she wasn't laughing anymore.

"Buck, I don't feel so good," she told him in the high, squeaky voice. She looked drowsy as she started to make her leap.

Buck was in mid sentence to stop her, but once she left the ledge, he dropped to his stomach just in time to catch her paw as she dropped from her weakened jump. She wasn't moving as he pulled her up, and held her in his arms.

"Come on, Angel," he said, and slapped her cheeks softly. He could hear his own voice starting to change, so he quickly moved the two of them back to the cave's mouth where Eddie was kneeling over Frost and Crash who were still laughing.

"Why are they still laughing? Shouldn't they be stopping now?" Eddie asked, remembering that he had stopped only seconds after leaving the Chasm of Death.

"They've been in there a really long time," Buck told Eddie. "It'll take some time, but they'll be okay." Buck was more worried about Tundra. She still hadn't opened her eyes. _Come on, Angel. Wake up. Open those eyes._

"Come on, Tundra," Buck said out loud while shaking the mink. "Wake up."

To his relief, the mink opened her blue eyes slightly. She gave him a small smiled, and raised her paw to his face, then pressed on his nose.

"Beep," she said loudly, and burst out laughing.

Crash and Frost, who had just started to calm down a little, started up again, holding their sides as they rolled around in hysterics. Even Eddie laughed, but stifled it and looked to Buck to see if he was mad.

But Buck only hugged Tundra and started laughing himself, relief flooding over him that she will be alright.

Tundra, still high on the gas, leaned into the weasel as she chuckled softly, her head on his shoulder with his fur on her face, feeling his arms around her. She laughed again and thought perhaps she had died. If so, this was so much better.

Crash's stomach felt it first, the after effects of too much gas. He moaned, laughed a little more, and then moaned even louder. He felt like he was going to throw up. Then his head started to pound and he tried to hide his eyes from the sunlight.

It wasn't long until Frost started acting the same way, then Tundra. When she started feeling the worse of the gas, she tightened her grip around Buck, burying her face further into his fur in hopes that the pain would go away.

"It's the after effects," Buck told Eddie. "The symptoms should go away after a while. They'll be fine."

Once again, Crash was the first to shake off the affects of the gas, and realized what he had said in the presence of females. His most embarrassing secret. Oh noes.

Frost groaned as she remembered what she had said in the chasm, and didn't feel any kind of remorse. She didn't say anything that she wouldn't say sober, and she didn't care what anyone thought of her. But on the other hand, she started to remember the other things that were said, mainly from her cousin. She looked over to where Tundra and Buck were.

Tundra was still in his arms, probably still feeling the after effects of the gas so she wasn't moving. Buck looked content to let her stay in his embrace, a genuinely happy smile on his face. Every once in a while, he was stroke the fur on the back of her head.

Frost appraised the scene, and if she didn't know any better, she would have thought Buck was normal for a weasel. Not only that, but she could swear that Buck was. . . No, that couldn't be possible. The two had been through so much together, they were just really close. Sure, Tundra admitted that she loved him, but it was probably just a harmless crush and that gas just made her throw it all into the open. Besides, Buck was married. Tundra knew better than to get in the middle of that like the rest of their family was prone to do. There was nothing more to read in that embrace that was lasting for a long time. A very, very long time.

As Tundra started to remember the last hour, she became horrifyingly aware of what she had said and who she was pressing herself to. In one fluid motion, she pushed herself away from Buck, and stumbled to her feet. However, the nausea still prevented her from standing straight. She clenched her forehead to keep it from exploding.

"It looks like you all are going to be fine," Buck told them, and stood up as well. "I know you'd want to rest a bit longer, but I think we may be pushing our luck to stay here. Those raptors could be anywhere."

With moans and groans, the other allowed themselves to be helped along by Buck and Eddie to somewhere safer. However, Frost and Crash received a frightening threat from Tundra that unspeakable things would come upon them if they so much as breathed a word of what happened in the Chasm of Death.

* * *

><p>Frost woke up with a headache. This was usual for her. She also had a vague recollection of what happened the day before. This was, also, usual for her. She looked around and noticed the room she was in did not look familiar. This was, however, not usual for her. She saw a fluffy reddish-brown tail next to her, and shook her cousin.<p>

"Tundra, wake up. We're somewhere different," Frost hissed with wide eyes.

"Na na," Tundra moaned, smacked her lips and went back to sleep.

Frost tugged on the mink's tail. "Get up, Tundra, or I'll scream," Frost said in Tundra's ear.

That threat did it. Tundra sat up with half-opened eyes. She rubbed her face before asking her cousin, "Whaaaaaaat?"

"Where are we?" Frost asked.

Tundra looked around. "We're in Buck's house," she said sleepily, and gripped her head. "Is this what it feels like after a night of drinking?" she asked in a growl. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Oh, no you don't. Don't leave me alone. . ." Frost stopped in mid-sentence, a sly look on her face as she continued on. ". . .With your boyfriend."

Tundra' eyes popped open, and she launched herself at Frost. The two wrestled on the bed for a while, Frost (for the first time in her life) struggled against her cousin while Tundra used the moves Buck taught her.

"Oh, good. You're up," a voice at the door said.

Both Tundra and Frost froze for a second before pushing each other away.

"Why'd you have to say something, Buck?" Eddie asked. "This was turning out to be the best day of my life."

The females gave the opossum a dark look that turned him away.

"Hurry up, now. My wife's made a lovely breakfast for all of you," the weasel said, and walked off.

Frost perked up. She wanted to get a glance of this wife of Buck's. What kind of woman was she that could live with the freak? How could anyone be attracted to him? No offense to Tundra, of course.

Frost went out the door, followed by a slouching Tundra. As she found her way to the kitchen, she stumbled back in horror. "That is the ugliest pineapple I have ever seen!" Frost shouted, and pointed at the piece of fruit on a chair.

"Frost, behave," Tundra hissed and poked her cousin in the side. "That's Buck's wife."

The words became stuck as Frost tried to digest them in her mind. It made the wheels stop turning for a second before she came to realize what was said.

"But it's a pineapple!" Frost shouted.

"Stooooop. You're embarrassing me," Tundra said and hit her forehead with her palm.

Frost then suddenly realized what was going on here. Tundra had gone insane and thought that Buck was married to a pineapple. The first mammal she had ever fallen in love with was beyond her ability, and thus created a world in her mind where Buck was married to the ugliest pineapple in the world.

"Hi, honey. Meet Frost. She's Tundra's cousin," Buck said as he waltz in. He took the time to pick up the pine apple and kiss it.

Once again, Frost froze as her brain shifted through the facts. Then she pointed at Buck and his "wife" and laughed hysterically.

"Are you sure the gas has worn off?" Tundra asked, giving her cousin a concerned look. "She's not acting herself."

"It all makes sense now," Frost said, and slapped her knee. "Everything makes sense now. Ha ha ha."

"Er. . .I'm sorry, Mrs. Buck. I don't know what's gotten into her," Tundra apologized. "Maybe I'll just take her outside for a few minutes."

"Alright. And we'll just go wake up the other opossum. He seemed to be having a hard time looking alive," Buck said, and carried his wife away.

Tundra pulled Frost out the back door, and gave her a stern look. "I'm surprised, Frost. I knew I wasn't going to expect prim and proper behavior from you, but I'd thought you'd at least be polite after all Buck's done for us."

"You _are_ insane, aren't you?" Frost said with a giggle. "It must be this place; it makes people go insane."

Tundra put her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin. "I'm not insane, okay. I know what's going on."

"Oh, so you realize that Buck is _pretending_ to be married to an ugly piece of fruit?" Frost confronted with a serious face.

"Well, I didn't ask to see a certificate, but yeah, I know that what Buck is. . .doing isn't. . . normal. But what do you do? Do you tell him that his wife's not real, that she doesn't feel emotions like love and happiness?"

"It! It! The pineapple's an IT!" Frost told Tundra sternly. "And what you shouldn't do is continue to feed his fantasy by talking to _it_ like _it_ is sentient."

"Well, sorry for not being a psychiatrist, but I don't think it's a fantasy," Tundra argued.

"Then what do you call it when a weasel acts like he is married to a pineapple?"

Tundra paused. "Well, it seems to me that he's using it to cope with life."

Frost looked skeptical. "That doesn't make sense."

Tundra looked away. "Well, he's been alone for so long, I think that maybe he made himself a wife so he wouldn't be so lonely."

"That. . ." Frost started to yell, but stopped. "Actually, that makes sense. That seems to be actually on the dot." Frost turned her head as she thought about it more as she thought back on Buck's behavior around Tundra.

However, Tundra looked down. She had left the part out where she could almost sense what kind of facial expression the pineapple had on. She couldn't figure out why that was. She wondered if it because of her own imagination or if she really was as insane as Buck. She had a theory that it was just her guilty feelings of being attracted to the weasel, but that didn't make sense if she truly believed that the pineapple was nothing more than a pineapple.

The two minks' thoughts were broken as a familiar voice shouted, "Ahhhhhhh. Ugly pineapple!" They ran into the log house, and found Buck standing over Crash looking offended as he held the pineapple to his chest. Crash had his arms around his eyes, whether to prevent himself from seeing the horrendous fruit or to cushion his headache, nobody could tell.

"That wasn't very nice. It's true, but you don't have to say it out loud," Buck told Crash. Then to the pineapple. "I know you try darling, but that's not why I love ya."

"Why, Tundra? Why him?" Frost asked as she pulled her cousin back. "It makes no sense to me. Why?"

Tundra bit her lip. "I'll tell you later."

* * *

><p>One awkward breakfast later, the two minks and twin opossums left Buck's house to rest and relax their soreness away. Although the three who were in the Chasm of Death don't remember much about the trip home, they were told that Buck and Eddie spent hours helping them through the jungle and had to drag them part of the way in the dark. All three still had headaches and sore sides from laughing too much.<p>

When they arrived at Tundra's tree, all of them, save for Eddie, sagged to branch in exhaustion. The active opossum had the energy to jump into Tundra's hammock and start swinging in it happily.

"Okay, Tundra. Spill it," Frost said as she lifted her head up from laying down on her stomache. "What's the deal with you and Buck?"

Tundra quickly glanced at Eddie and then glared at her cousin.

"Oh, don't be daft. You think that those two could keep secrets from one another, let alone a total stranger?" Frost said with a sardonic smile.

"They will if they want to live," Tundra muttered vehemently.

Eddie knew they were talking about secrets, and it was something he didn't know, so obviously he was interested. "What's going on? What's the secret about Buck?"

Tundra was about to tell everyone to drop it, when Frost sang, "Tundra's in love with Buuuuuuuck."

Eddie looked disappointed. "That's it. That's the secret," he said, and laid back down loosely in the hammock. "I already knew that."

"You told him!" Tundra shouted at Crash.

"No, I didn't. I swear," Crash shouted, not wanting to feel the wrath of the red-brown mink.

"He didn't have to tell me. It was soooooo obvious," Eddie said in a board tone.

All three of them looked at Eddie with a new light.

"How the heck did you know?" Crash asked.

Eddie shrugged. "I guess I know women better than you."

Crash's mouth sagged open, and he only closed it when the girls started laughing.

"So, tell us, Tundra. How in the heck did you fall in love with a head case like Buck?" Frost asked again, steepling her fingers with a look of interest.

Tundra sighed, and started telling them the parts of her tale that she had left out. She told them about when she and Buck had a fight, and then Buck cheered her up by giving her a ride on a butter fly and making it snow. She told them about how when Buck was hurt and they stayed on the beach for a couple of days while he grew better, and about when they played and got tangled up with each other and almost ended up kissing. And she even told them about her dreams that had been slowly getting closer and closer to them actually kissing as well. And finally, to end the story, she told them what happened after Buck's wife's "affair," how he appeared at her tree drunk and how she fix his "marriage". More than once, Tundra had to stop and wait for her audience to stop laughing at her.

"If you guys are finished mocking me, I think I'll just die of embarrassment," Tundra said, her face redder than her fur.

"Ah, I think it's kind of cute," Eddie said and hugged his brother. "I think you and Buck would make a great couple."

"If he wasn't pig-hoppin' crazy," Frost added, coughing away the last of her laughter. Her stomach still hurt from yesterday, so it was hard to hold in the giggles. "No offense, Tundra, but you have no taste in men."

"I don't think he's too bad. Just the pineapple thing is kind of weird," Crash told Frost.

"And that's what's making this complicated," Frost told them. "It would be so easy to smash that ugly thing when he's gone and make it look like an accident."

"Frost!" Tundra exclaimed looking horrified. "That would devastate Buck."

"Tundra, for crying out loud. It's. . .A. . .Pineapple!" Frost emphasized. "If Buck really is using it for a coping measure for the loneliness, then he doesn't need it anymore with you around. And if that thing is really gone, who knows what will happen. Maybe he'll find someone else to love. Someone he's close to."

Tundra smiled. "Frost, are you saying you want us together?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like him."

Frost shrugged. "I don't. But that doesn't mean he won't grow on me if he becomes family," she hinted.

Tundra smiled even wider and then frowned again. "I don't want to hurt him, especially when I don't think he could feel the same about me. I'm just a little scared mink that fell into his world and he took care of me. I don't even know if my feelings are real. I may have just fallen for him because he's so different from our family and he saved me. My feelings could just be a reaction from being rescued so often."

Crash and Eddie clapped. "That was so deep," Crash said, impressed.

"Knock it off," Tundra told them, feeling stupid for being so emotional.

"Then what are you going to do?" Frost asked her. "You've been feeding into his delusions by 'saving' their marriage, and you remember Auntie Tilly telling us how often men will leave their wives for a mink."

Tundra smiled at her wry humor, but looked sad again. "I guess it's time for me to leave," she said sadly. "Tomorrow, we're all going home."

"You're leaving Buck?" Eddie asked, getting involved in the mink's romantic life.

"You're going to make use leave Buck?" Crash asked, sounding distressed. "But we just got here."

Tundra smiled sadly. "It's the best thing. Buck's happy here. This is his world, he belongs here. And I obviously can't stay. I don't think that while I'm with him, I could stop being in love with him. It's better this way."

Frost nodded. She had been hoping Tundra would eventually come down this path. It was the right choice, and Frost had asked the right questions to get Tundra to think this way. She didn't feel she was manipulating her cousin since Tundra had said it, not her. But even so, she couldn't help feeling bad about it.

"Well, we're not leaving," Crash said stubbornly. "We came here to spend some time with Buck, and we're not leaving until we know all he can teach us."

"He has much wisdom," Eddie said respectfully, putting his paws together as if he were praying. "Our level of coolness would increase tenfold with his expertise."

Frost was not one to argue. Nor was she one to have anyone argue with her and win. "Okay, that's fine. I'm sure your sister, Ellie, will be glad to hear the news that her brothers left without telling her where they were going, and putting themselves in mortal danger."

The two opossums' eyes widened and gulped.

"I'm sure she'd be so glad that she'd do anything to come see you," Frost said with a grin filled with fake cheer. "And when she gets her trunk on you, oh won't you be glad to see her too."

"We forgot to tell Ellie we were leaving," Eddie said, recalled.

"She'll kill us," Crash gulped.

"Unless, someone explains to her how you had no choice in the matter. That coming down here was such a horrible accident, and that you're lucky to be alive," Frost said innocently, and looked at the opossums with big eyes.

"That's blackmail!" Eddie shouted.

Crash slapped a paw over Eddie's mouth, his face serious. "You got us. Fine, we'll come with you. And we'll come quietly. But only if we get half the day with Buck. Deal," Crash said as suave as a opossum could muster.

Frost half-smiled. "Deal."

The shook on it.

* * *

><p>Author: Yay, Chapter 7 is complete. I think this was my favorite chapter so far. Mmmm, Chasm of Death.<p>

Buck: Are you Blummin' mad? The Chasm of Death will destroy us all. Nothin' is more fearsome than the Chasm of Death.

Author: Riiiiiight. Anyone, today as you can see Buck will be giving us the teaser for the next chapter. Buck, if you please.

Buck: Please what?

Author: Read the paper I gave you.

Buck: But I can't read.

Author: You. . .can't. . .?

Buck: I don't need your fancy squiggles. You'd think those are gonna protect you from Rudy? You'd be a dead mammal for sure.

Author: If you can't read, then how have you been following my script?

Buck: What script?

Author: . . . I see.

Buck: You see what? Is there something behind me?

Author: Look, could you just give us a teaser for the next chapter of the story.

Buck: What story?

Author (slaps her forehead): I thought someone had briefed him on the situation. People, I can't do this on my own. I have other fanfics I'm working on.

(Crash and Eddie crawl up to her)

Crash: (in a whisper) Pst, he doesn't know it's a story.

Author: What?

Eddie: He thinks it's all real. Like the Pineapple.

Author: Oh for the love of smoked cheese. (To Buck) Okay Buck, we're going to play a game. Pretend someone is reading the story of your life. Make up a teaser for the next chapter. Also, throw in some nonsense stuff, just to throw off the audience.

Buck: Right-O. So, here is Buck. Handsome weasel with panache and wicked survival skills. He's just saved his group of friends from a horrible death of laughter. Buck is amazing. Will he be able to keep them all safe? Will his friends get eaten while he looks away or is in the lou? Will Frost ever pull that stick out of her-

Author: Buck, this story is rated K+.

Buck: Right-O. Will the world be destroyed by a fiery meteor, or will Buck be able to fly into space and divert it from its deadly path? Will Buck become king of the world? Find out next time on. . .The Story of Buck!

Author: . . . .

Buck: How's that?

Author: Good enough.


	8. Chapter 8: Pop Goes My Heart

(Author's note: I know that this chapter is a little late, but I want to thank those of you who are still hanging on, especially to one person in particular who told me that I've neglected this story long enough. To the rest of you, don't think you can start scolding me for being lazy, because that won't fly. It was awesome the first time. I also like to make excuses for my laziness. I have a husband who I like to spend time with, so he comes first. I am also currently writing a novel, writing a comic for a contest that is due at the end of this month, and have a convention in April I need to prepare for. It might be a while until I update again, but I promise I'm not going away. I'm very close to the ending of this story. Another reason for my lateness in updating is that I actually tried to make something more to Buck. I tried to turn my story to look deeper into who Buck was and into his past. And then I thought, "He's Buck. Why ruin it?" and went back to my old plan. For a heads up, this fanfic will be twelve chapters long, and I don't have plans for a sequel. If Ice Age 4 gives me any ideas, I might go with it. One more thing, I have a quick question about the trailer for IA 4. When Scat is captured by pirates (and let me remind you all, I came up with the idea first), was there a female sabor on the ship. It looked like it to me. She's gray with dark stripes. I hope its a girl. That would be awesome. Huh, Diego *nudge nudge wink wink*. Sorry about the long Author's note, but most of you probably skipped it anyway. Love you all. See you next chapter.)

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 8: My Heart Went Pop

by Emilou aka Hatashikitty

I never thought that I could be so satisfied,  
>Every time that I look in your angel eyes.<br>A shock inside me that words just can't describe,  
>And there's no explaining.<br>There's something in the way you move, I can't deny,  
>Every word from your lips is a lullaby.<br>A twist of fate makes life worth while,  
>You are gold and silver.<p>

I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>And I just can't let you go,  
>I can't lose this feeling.<p>

These precious moments, we have so few,  
>Lets go far away, where there's nothing to do but play.<br>You shoot to me that my destiny's with you,  
>And there's no explaining.<br>Lets fly so high, will you come with me tonight?  
>In your dress, I confess, you're the source of light.<br>The way you shine in the starry skies,  
>You are gold and silver.<p>

I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>And I just can't let you go,  
>I can't lose this feeling.<p>

A twist of fate makes life worth while,  
>You are gold and silver.<p>

I said I wasn't gonna lose my head, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>I wasn't gonna fall in love again, but then  
>POP! Goes my heart.<br>And I just can't let you go,  
>I can't lose this feeling.<p>

-song by Blakemore, Andrew Wyatt/Vicente, and Alanna

Buck leaped from a branch into a puddle of water. It had rained during the night, but it cleared up in time for a beautiful morning. At least it was beautiful until the fight he had with his wife. Once more, it was about him not spending enough time with her. It was always Rudy this and "that mink" that. It was like he couldn't have a life of his own any more. Why couldn't he have his own space sometimes?

She needed to get out more, make new friends. Girls her own age would help. Maybe the kiwi next door would help her let loose, maybe go to the spa. He should suggest that to her. It's not healthy for a pineapple to stay at home. Maybe it was a mistake to let her quit her job and be a full time housewife.

Anyway, he'd take care of it once he went home again. Now, he had his guests to take care of. It's been so nice to have new people down here. He didn't think it at first. The strange herd that came down looking for their friend was kind of a pain, but it made him remember what family meant. He was a little hopeful when they invited him to go back with them, but it didn't seem right. Up there wasn't his world anymore.

But when Tundra fell from the ice sky and into his world, he thought _Oh boy, he's another pain to take care of._ But things changed. He wanted to be around her more and more. He didn't realize how lonely his life had been before her.

And for some reason, the appearance of these other mammals made him feel lonely again. Part of him didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was going to happen.

Tundra was going to leave.

He didn't know when. And he didn't want her to.

He just couldn't admit it.

* * *

><p>"And then, Captain Firefur told the pack rat invaders, 'There is no fuzzin' way I'll join you. Not in this Ice Age or any other.' But the pack rat leader didn't like Firefur's answer. No, far from it. For his insolence, the scurvy rodent tied him to an icicle. The pack rat leader could have killed Captain Firefur there, but he wanted him to suffer. So he cut open a scratch on his leg and let his blood spill on the snow. The smell of blood would attract a pack of wolves, and they would be hungry for his flesh."<p>

Crash and Eddie's eyes widened as Tundra paused in her dramatic retelling of one of her favorite pirate stories her grandfather used to tell her.

"What happened? How did Captain Firefur get out of there?" Crash asked, his enthusiasm breaking through.

"Well, sea minks are one of the slipperiest creatures of all. They have an oil in their fur that allows them to float, which makes their fur sleek and slippery. Captain Firefur used his own blood to make himself even more slick, he used his own blood to coat his bonds and slipped out of the trap. But by now, the wolves were almost upon him, crazy with the smell of blood," Tundra continued.

About this time, Buck had joined them, silently sneaking up the tree. He stood behind the opossum brothers and gave Tundra a wink for her to continue her story and not say anything. There was no sign of her cousin.

Tundra told the rest of the story, using wide gestures and a dramatic flare in her voice to keep Crash and Eddie entertained. She was a great story teller, but only because she had heard her grandfather tell it many times.

The story ended with the pack rat invaders' leader vowing revenge on Captain Firefur and his whole family. At that time, Buck clapped his paws onto Crash and Eddie's shoulder, scaring the young marsupials into squealing like girls.

"Well, tha' was a grand story. A great way to begin the mornin', what do ya say, boys? Are ya ready to go on an adventure?" Buck asked with his usual crazy-for-danger smile.

"Oh yeah," the opossums yelled together, giving each other high fives and fist bumps.

"You'll have to go without me," Tundra said with a wave, then explained to Buck's long face. "Frost isn't awake, and I don't want to leave her alone."

"Then wake her up. The day's a wastin'," Buck growled with a gleam in his eye.

Tundra looked at him with the straightest face he'd ever seen. "Nobody wakes her up. Frost isn't a morning person."

"Come on. I'll wake her up," Buck said jollily. "I don't like loafers on such a beautiful morning."

Tundra's face grew darker. "You don't understand. _Nobody_ wakes Frost up. The last mammal that tried that was her brother, and he lived to regret it. And it wasn't just him that suffered," Tundra said, her voice so cold it burned their ears. "It was like she cursed her whole family for just a few hours of sleep. Frost is a demon that shouldn't be awaken on a whim. You wouldn't want all of us to be cursed for letting you wake her up, would you?" By this time, Tundra was leaning toward the males, her eyes wide and pupils dilated in a face that made shivers crawl up even Buck's spine.

"NO! Don't wake her up!" Eddie cried out in a panic.

"Please, I'd rather die!" Crash moaned.

Buck, not wanting to show how disturbed he was, shook his fur out. "Fine, let the grumpy princess sleep," he said as if he were doing Tundra a favor. "It'll be her loss. We're gonna have fun, aren't we boys?"

"Heck yes," the brothers said together.

"What are we going to do, Buck?" Eddie asked, his cracking voice becoming more shrill from excitement.

"Well, I thought we'd start out with a triceratops ride, an' then we go look at the giant piranha pond, followed by throwin' rocks at some raptors an' then showin' you the Garden of No Return. An' that's just for starters," Buck said, winking is one good eye.

The opossums cheered at the thought of such a dangerous and action-packed morning.

"Sounds like fun," Tundra told them. "If you'd come back by noon, I'll have lunch prepared. By then, Frost should be up."

"No prob," Crash answered for all of them, giving her a knowing look. It was to say he remembered their deal the night before. A half day with Buck, and they'll return to the surface.

Crash's look reminded Tundra of something she _had_ to do. Something she didn't want to do, and it made her heart ache now that the moment had come. She had to tell Buck that she was leaving.

"Uh, Buck. I need to tell you something before you take off," Tundra called to the spotted weasel right before he jumped down from the tree.

"Yeah. What is it, Angel-girl?" he asked as he turned around.

Her lip quivered. She never had a nickname before, and she took Buck's name for her for granted. The thought that she'd never hear that name again made her heart quake. Moments passed quickly while for Tundra they were just seconds.

"Angel-girl? Are you okay?" Buck asked in a worried tone.

"Huh?" Tundra almost shouted, stunned out of her emotions.

"What do you need to tell me?"

Nerves tightened, her mouth became dry and her brain raced to erase all her reasons to leave. And she stopped herself from saying the fateful words.

"Uh, just that you should be careful. I don't want to have to tell their sister she's an only child," Tundra said with a small smile.

Tundra could see Eddie shake his head in disappointment from behind Buck. Both he and his brother knew she chickened out.

"Don' you worry your halo," Buck said with a big smile. "These lads will come back newly dubbed as real wild mammals."

And with that, the three males swung down on vines, leaving Tundra to herself. It took her a while to shake of her nerves, telling her body that everything was okay. But it wasn't. In a few hours, she'd have to go through the whole ordeal once again, and really go through it. In the meantime, she told herself it was better this way. There was no point in ruining Buck's day. He'd just feel upset, and make the opossum brothers miserable as well. That was how Buck was. He didn't hide his feelings, no matter how small of a variety of emotions he had.

It was better this way.

* * *

><p>Buck had to paw it to the little scrawny opossums. They were a fearless pair. Either that, or they were stupid. After some thinking, Buck decided it was a healthy mixture of both. He'd been that way when he was young. Sometimes he still acted a little stupid.<p>

The weasel didn't lie to his guests; they went and did everything that was on his list and plus some. When they arrived at The Cracks of Agonizing Pain, Crash had almost died three times (he fell into the piranha pond, tried to ride a baby Stegosaurus and nearly consumed by a flesh-eating orchid), and Eddie only had two near-death experiences (he thought he could swing across a gorge and then Crash dared him to go poke a sleeping raptor in the butt). Eddie was determined to catch up to his brother. And The Cracks of Agonizing Pain was a great place to do it.

Buck quickly showed them how the cracks let loose hot air in bursts, and that the geyser had enough pressure behind it to propel a rock. It was a perfect setting to tell the boys the story of how he eluded Rudy on the terrain by launching rocks at the albino carnivore. He was at the best part of the story when he took a good look at his audience.

"Hey, where's the other one?" he asked, stopping his story.

Crash, who was too involved in listening to Buck, hadn't noticed when he brother had left them. Now that Buck had pointed it out, he jumped up quickly and called for his brother. Opossum and weasel searched quickly, and finally found the missing mammal on the far side of The Cracks.

Eddie hadn't really been bored of Buck's story; the reason he left his comrades was because he had a plan, and he really needed to do it now. After a few minutes, he found the largest leaf he could find and tied two vines to each end of the leaf. Then he tied the vines to himself in a crude harness. That was how his brother and Buck found him on the other side of The Cracks, dragging his leaf to the nearest hole and waiting for hot air to gush out.

Buck, as he ran toward the opossum, assessed what was going through the mammal's fuzzy head. Once he figured out Eddies plan, he had two reactions. The first was a chuckle at the ingenious invention. It sounded like something he would try. The second was to put more speed into his sprint to stop the mammal from killing himself. He shouted and waved to stop Eddie's suicidal mission.

But they were too late. Eddie smirked as he thought of his brother's envious face. This would top everything Crash had done. The ground started to shake as the geyser's hot air was rising to the surface.

Buck and Crash were only a few feet away when the spout erupted, carrying the leaf along with it and pulling Eddie off the ground faster than any mammal has gone before.

Eddie's stomach dropped into his tail as he was slung into the air. He had stood as far he could from the hot air, and purposefully used long vines so he could avoid the steam, but it still wasn't enough to entirely prevent himself from being pulled into the steam. Lucky for him, he hit the steam higher in the air, and it wasn't as hot as at the mouth of the geyser. His tale received the worst of it, and stung as if a snake had bit him. But the opossum didn't pay attention to the pain as he rocketed higher and higher into the air, not stopping until he almost touched the ice sky.

For a few seconds, Eddie was able to appreciate his trip, reveling in the adrenaline shooting through his system and enjoying the sight.

Then he dropped like a rock.

But only for a couple dozen feet while the leaf straightened out and caught the air enough to become a parachute.

On the ground, Buck and Crash were paralyzed as they were caught in watching Eddie shooting up into the air. They only started to breath again when they saw the little speck start coming back down slowly.

Buck was glad there wasn't much air currents down below the ice sky, and was sure the opossum would land close by. He laughed loudly at the small mammals daring feat. "That's quite a brother you have," he told Crash.

Crash, trying not to show his concern, just pouted and muttered something that sounded like "Showoff."

Up in the air, Eddie was enjoying his ride down, shouting and waving down at the little specks on the ground. "Hey, guys. I can see Buck's house from here," he shouted and laughed.

And then things went wrong.

A leaf isn't a very sturdy thing in the first place. When it's subjected to heat and pressure was put on it, it won't come out of it unscathed. So far, Eddie had been lucky, but the strain was now becoming too much for the leaf. It started to rip. The tear started out small, but as Eddie moved around in his harness, it grew and grew. Soon, a large strip of the greenery was flapping in the wind, and Eddie was falling a bit faster than he'd like.

The opossum looked up to see what the problem was, and saw that his parachute would soon be in two pieces. And that's when his shouts turned from joyous, to panic.

Buck and Crash noticed Eddie's change in mood as well as the rate of his descent.

"He's falling faster. Something's wrong," Crash shouted at Buck.

Buck didn't respond, but just kept an eye on the opossum. "His chute is tearing. He's too far up."

"What do we do?" Crash yelled, grabbing Buck's shoulder.

"Quick, grab some of those large leaves. We can use them to catch him," Buck shouted, running to go do the same.

"What if he comes down before we get back?" Crash asked, a hint of hysteria in his cracking voice.

"We can't do anythin' for him then. If we try to catch 'im, he might kill us as well," Buck told the young opossum. It was a harsh truth, but in times of crisis, Buck didn't care to sugar coat anything.

Crash had never felt more fear for his brother, and suddenly he knew the reason why. Buck wasn't smiling.

Meanwhile, Eddie was desperately watching the two on the ground. They were his only hope if his parachute quit on him. Right now, it was still slowing his descent, but it was still tearing in two. And now the rip had changed direction. Instead of just pulling off a length-wise piece off, it was now ripping width-wise. In a few moments, nothing would be slowing his progress to the ground.

His eyes became dry from starring at the situation, his neck hurting from the whiplash of turning his head back and forth from the ground to his parachute and back again. He kept wishing that they were in a forested area since he was very close to the tree-line and the vegetation would have saved him, but when he went through with his stunt, he didn't think about what would happen if anything went wrong.

The small little opossum cried out in joy when he saw his brother and Buck emerge from the vegetation carrying paw-fulls of leaves. They had a plan.

The two mammals on the ground layered the leaves, and then stretched them between their bodies, creating a soft barrier between Eddie and the ground. That is, if they could catch him. Crash and Buck soon were dancing back and forth trying to stay directly underneath the falling mammal to save his life.

Finally, after much tension, Eddie's leaf gave one final tug on the vines, and split in two. Eddie, no longer airborne, tumbled through the air screaming the entire way. He tried to keep his eyes on Buck and Crash, but he was spinning so erratically that he couldn't keep track of what was up and what was down.

Crash and Buck sprinted once they saw the weasel free fall, and they had only seconds to get directly beneath him with their leaf padding. And like a blind rat running frantically in a densely populated forest, they all hit their heads against the closest object (which was another heat) and collapsed in a pile of relief and pain. Groans and moans were soon interrupted by a hysterical giggle from one particular individual.

"Hahahaha, that was so much fun. You guys have to try it," Eddie told them, holding onto his head while he rolled on the ground. He didn't get to laugh for long. Soon, Crash had his paws around Eddie's neck and was throttling his brother.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Crash kept repeating.

"I just saved 'im. Please don't ruin my efforts an' kill 'im," Buck said with a gruff laugh.

Crash relented and released his brother. Eddie still had a huge grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Crash asked.

"I'm winning," Eddie replied. "I've almost died four times today.

"Dude, I still only count three," Crash argued although his temper had cooled down.

"Uh-uh. You almost killed me, therefore, I'm up to four," Eddie bragged with a huge grin.

Buck chuckled as he listened to their squabbling.

* * *

><p>Tundra only left her cousin alone for a small amount of time to forage for food, and that was only because she knew Frost would be dead to the world for a while more. Plus she knew that they would never eat so well once they went back above the ice sky. So she loaded up on every fruit she could find as well as raided a nest for a few eggs while she was at it. By the time she lugged it back up the tree, Frost was moaning and stirring in the hammock, which meant she'd be awake in a half hour.<p>

Tundra was fine for the time to herself. She was feeling a bit emotional as she ran through the jungle, because she knew it would be her last. And now she looked at the place she had called home for only a few months, and felt like she was leaving the world.

She sat down on the smooth bark, and took everything in. Smells, sights, sounds. She wanted to take everything about it back with her. Because it reminded her of the best time of her life. She finally felt like herself, the true mink that laid beneath the fur that her family tried to make her to be.

She tried to intake everything that she's known, learned and experienced in the past few months, including everything that had to do with Buck. She knew she had to leave; her presence was already breaking up his world. The tension between he and his wife was her fault. She couldn't stay.

A loud moan and the sound of heavy paw steps made Tundra wipe away tears before she turned around.

"You don't need to do that around me," Frost said, strangely lucid for her after waking up. "So spill it all, before your boyfriend get back with the kiddies."

Tundra chuckled softly at her comment. "I think this is the hardest thing I'm going to have to do. I don't want to leave."

Frost sighed. "You know I love you, coz, and I don't want to loose you. But you're a grown mammal. You can make you're own choices. I can at least go up and tell everyone you're alive."

Tundra blew out her breath with puffed up cheeks in frustration. "You haven't seen how things are down here. Buck's been alone for. . .I donno. . .maybe years by himself, with nothing to do but try to stay alive. And its like he created his own little world to cope with isolation."

Frost gave Tundra a look as if she were saying, "You are so bizarre."

"You've really given this Buck guy some thought," Frost told her cousin. "So that's why he's got the creepy pineapple-wifey thing goin' on."

"Yeah, and I'm breaking up his world. The longer I stay, the worse its going to get," Tundra added. She swallowed as if something was caught in her throat. "And its only going to get harder to leave the longer I stay. I have to go with you. Today."

Frost's eyebrows lowered. "You do realize you are backing down from a guy because of a piece of fruit."

Tundra's shoulders sagged.

"This is ridiculous. Just tell him that it's all in his mind. He needs to face reality," Frost insisted.

Tundra looked worried. "Are you sure that will fix everything? If we tell him that his world is wrong, will he see reason? Everything will just click into place and fix itself?" Tundra almost demanded the answers, but looked as if she didn't expect them.

Frost thought about these questions. She thought about if someone told her that the way she was living was wrong. Would she believe them? No, of course not. And even if they gave her evidence that she was wrong, would she still accept it?

"I guess you're right," Frost admitted. "But I still think you're wrong."

"It doesn't matter," Tundra said. "I don't want to hurt Buck anymore. I need to leave him."

They sat in silence for a while, and it was Frost that spoke first.

"You know, I can always go and get rid of the wife for you," she told her cousin.

Tundra looked at her cousin in horror, but couldn't keep back a laugh. "Oh, you're awful."

"I can sneak over there, and go feed her to a couple of dinosaurs."

"Now, would that be called fruiticide?"

"How about we eat her ourselves?" Frost said with an evil grin.

Tundra looked disgusted. "She's probably full of worms or rotting by now." Tundra looked thoughtful. "Maybe Buck sometimes misplaces her and then just finds another pineapple lying around to replace her."

Frost's eyes grew wide. "He could be a poly-fruit-gamist."

That set the two laughing again even though they both felt it was forced. After awhile, they started eating breakfast. Since their meal was made mostly of fruit, they started laughing and joking again.

* * *

><p>Frost and Tundra were still laughing and joking when they heard the three males making their way up the tree. They hushed up quickly, exchanging sly glances that nobody else would know the meaning of.<p>

Buck and the opossums immediately went for the remainder of the fruit that the minks didn't eat, stuffing their faces. Crash explained that near-death experiences always made them famished. Once they had slowed down in their chewing, they took turns retelling their adventures and showing their battle wounds.

Frost was so caught up in the energy of the moment that she joined in on their jokes and laughter, eating more of the fruit even though she was full. Tundra, on the other hand, tried to laugh and join in, but it was forced. She was sure nobody noticed her strange behavior except for her cousin. She made the excuse of going to get more fruit to get away from everyone.

Tundra wanted some time to herself to prepare for her talk with Buck. She never expected that she'd speak with the weasel so quickly.

"Hey, what's the matter, Angel-girl?"

Tundra spun around. She hadn't heard the weasel scale down the tree after her.

"Ah, Buck. You don't have to help. Go talk to the boys. They adore you," Tundra said with a smile.

"Somethin's wrong. What is it?" Buck asked again.

"Nothing. Now go enjoy yourself," Tundra lied.

Buck shook his head. "You know me better than tha', Angel-girl. I can tell when somethin' isn 't right. Now tell me."

It was just like Buck to sense something others didn't, and that he went straight to the point.

"Buck, there's something I have to tell you," Tundra told him. It was now or never. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but things got out of hand. And you were so happy, and I didn't want to ruin everything."

"Whoa, Angel-girl. You aren't making any sense," Buck told her with a grin, but felt uneasy. Tundra sometimes would babble, but only when she was very distressed. But this wasn't the same distress she had when her life was in danger. This was something else.

"Frost really should be going home, and the boys should go back before their family gets any more worried, and I've decided to go back with them," Tundra told him in one big breath.

Buck's grin fell slowly.

"It's time for me to leave," Tundra says slower. "I may not know all you do, but it's an improvement on the old me. My family thinks I'm dead. I need to go home."

Buck looked stunned for a while, and then he grinned once more. But it wasn't a grin Tundra knew. "I must be a better teacher than I thought. But I guess you're ready t' graduate from Buck's Boot Camp. We can have the graduation ceremony tonight. You'll need a camp an' gown, an' no playing pranks on the dean."

Tundra smiled softly, but shook her head. "Buck, we're going to leave today. Within the hour. Again, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she told him softly.

"Oh," Buck said after a slight hesitation. That strange smile was still on his furry face. "Well, if you have t' go, you have t' go. You don' need my permission t' leave."

"I hope that I can still come visit you," Tundra told him. "Or you can come visit me. You still are my best friend."

"I guess you don' even need my help gettin' back," Buck said. It appeared as if he didn't hear her last words. "You know enough to take 'em up safely."

Tundra's eyebrows knitted together; she could tell there was something wrong. "I guess. But it'll be nice to take one last butterfly ride together," she told him with a smile. "You will be. . ."

Buck interrupted her by holding up a finger and saying, "Hold on a minute." He reached behind him as if he were grabbing his tooth knife, but instead he brought out a squarish rock. "Allo? Ah, yes luv. I'm here with Angel, her cousin an' the boys. No. Yes. What's that you say?"

Tundra starred at Buck. She smiled faintly, thinking that this was one of his strange jokes. She decided to go with it. "Who are you talkin' to?" she asked the weasel."

Buck shushed her with a finger, and then cupped the rock as if it would over-hear him. "It's the wife. She's upset abou' somethin'," he told her with a roll of the eyes.

Tundra felt uneasy about Buck's behavior.

"Okay, I'm on my way. Don' do anythin'. It's okay, sweetie," Buck told the rock. Then he muttered, "Okay. I love you, too. Goodbye." He then dropped the rock, and straightened up. "There's an emergency at home. I have to go immediately to take care of it."

Now Tundra knew something was wrong, but it wasn't with the pineapple. Was she wrong or was Buck upset? She had never seen Buck upset before, not ever. Maybe it wasn't a good idea just to spring the news of her leaving so instantly on him.

"Well, good luck on the whole livin' your life in the Ice Age, mammal," Buck told her with a salute. "Take care of those boys, an' keep that cousin away from me." And then, in a blink of an eye, the weasel was gone.

Tundra was so stunned by his behavior that she had little time to react or stop him. And by the time her brain tallied up what had happened, she felt abandoned. She had spent months with Buck. He had taught her how to survive, shown her many wonderful and beautiful things together. They had nearly died together by Rudy's teeth and claws. He had saved her life multiple times, and she had even manage to save his. They were best friends, or at least she thought so.

And he didn't say good-bye to her.

Tundra wondered if this was how he handled distress, and if this was the last time she would see Buck. She could stay a day or more to let him get used to the idea, but her family would be looking for Frost. If she took her cousin home and stayed, it would be even harder for her to leave the jungle and Buck. She had to leave today, but also decided to come back in a few weeks to check on Buck. Perhaps when he realized that she wasn't going to stay away forever, he'd be better. Or would it be better if she never came back at all, since she was the reason for Buck's rocky marriage?

She was so confused by everything that she didn't know what to do. Slowly, she made her way back up the tree to where her guests were.

"Where's Buck?" Eddie was the first to speak.

"Uh, I told him that we were leaving soon," Tundra told them, feeling emotional. "He didn't take it well."

"Didn't take it well?" Frost repeated. She looked protective. "What, did he yell at you?"

Tundra shook her head. "No, he. . uh. . .he was acting weird. He talked to a rock and then left without saying goodbye. He said his wife had an emergency."

Crash shrugged. "Sounds like regular Buck," he told her.

"No, it doesn't. He's never done anything like that," Tundra said sadly.

"Yeah, talking to pineapples is completely different than talking to rocks," Frost said sarcastically with an exaggerated rolling of her eyes.

"No, I know him," Tundra insisted. "He was acting different. He was upset. He just left."

Crash shook his head. "He did the same thing to us. It's just his mysterious ways. We mere mortals can't be expected to understand him."

Tundra wanted to argue more, but knew she wasn't going to persuade them. She just let the issue drop.

* * *

><p>"How could she just leave like that?" the fish head asked offended.<p>

"And not say goodbye to Rudy?" the nutshell clacked in agreement.

"Now, it's not her fault, she has to help those nutty opossums and her cousin home," the skull of a bird argued. It was always very sentimental.

The nutshell sniffed stiffly at the "nutty" comment.

"She could have told Buck earlier," the fish head said indignantly.

"Yeah, she should have," Buck nodded at the fish head. "She could have told me. . .no, I guess it's not somethin' you bring up when you almost die."

"I would," the nutshell pipped in.

The bird skull shook its bony head at Buck. "Did you ever consider that it might have been hard to tell you?"

"How hard is it to say, 'By the way, I've decided to leave. It's been fun.' Not hard at all, I think," the fish head snubbed the skull. "A real mate would have done so little."

"And she didn't even ask about your wife," the nutshell told Buck, looking very snobbish about the mink's behavior.

"They've never gotten along," Buck admitted. "I've also been spendin' less time with Angel-girl. But the wife's insisted."

"And all because of that mink," the nutshell said, always glad to criticize someone.

"But she's always been very polite to your wife, and supported you when you were having trouble," the bird skull told Buck softly. "She's always been there for you."

"Yeah, she has," Buck said. "Life's been interestin' since she fell from the sky."

"And she does play well with Rudy," the bird skull added.

"Oh, what an adventure tha' was," Buck agreed, his eyes sparkling. "I don' know how I feel about her leavin' so suddenly. The only thing is that I'm glad its so sudden an' not dragged out like the flu or a nasty rash."

"I hate rashes," the nutshell put in its two cents.

"You don't need her to have fun," the fish head insisted. "You have your health, your wife and Rudy. What else do you need?"

Buck thought about that, and felt empty. Even with that great list of things he had, it was still one thing too short. But he wasn't going to say that out loud to these characters.

"A good back scratcher," said the nutshell, obviously answering the fish head's question.

"Well, what do you think?" Buck asked the last member of the group that hadn't said a thing.

The pine cone was silent for a little while before replying. "Maybe you should ask yourself, what does she mean to you?"

The question surprised Buck. He wasn't sure how he'd answer. But the thing that came out of his mouth was this. "I'd be so lonely without her."

The pine cone fell silent once more, satisfied with the answer Buck gave him.

"Lonely? Why would you be lonely when you have us?" the fish head demanded, starring at Buck with unblinking eyes.

Buck looked down at all the inanimate objects with a blank look. Then he stood up, dusted off his pelt and waved. "Thanks for the talk, guys. It really helped."

The fish head, nutshell, bird skull and pine cone never spoke another word again, apparently flabbergasted at Buck's strange behavior.

Buck now had a lot to think about on his way home, but his head didn't feel like addressing any of the immediate issues. His thoughts bounce from one item to the next, keeping far, far away from Tundra. Sooner than he expected, he arrived at his log home. Minus his usual swagger, he entered his domain as if he were a zombie. His eyes didn't see anything, nor did he react at the presence of the pineapple. He completely ignored it.

Only then did he finally grasp that tomorrow, Tundra wouldn't be in her tree. There would be no more adventures with her. No more teasing her, or hearing her scream from fright. No more games of dinosaur chicken, or teasing Rudy with her. No more getting her to laugh at his antics or hear her tell another pirate story.

And the dreams would probably go away too.

It would just be him again, alone. His heart started to beat quicker, but not from excitement like usual. It was dread.

He was never afraid of being alone before. But he had never met anyone that could keep up with him like Tundra could.

Oh, that sabor might have done so, but he'd rather raise a baby mammoth than live with danger and death every day.

Buck felt angry with himself for not saying goodbye to his best friend. That's what the bird skull was trying to get at. Now he'll probably never see her again. The weasel quickly pulled out his knife, and stabbed it into the wall of his home.

What he really needed was some help. But he wasn't quite sure how to ask for it.

Help? Something popped into Buck's head as he thought of the word. Didn't Tundra mention something about her family? Her parents or someone else, they weren't getting along. What did they do? Go to a counselor? That's right, a marriage counselor. To get the help they need. That seemed like something he could do.

"Oh, sorry about that, darlin'," Buck said apologetically, turning around to the pineapple behind him. He immediately straightened to his full height and his usual Buck smile on his countenance. "I was a little distracted. I didn' mean to ignore you. Now what was that emergency you were talkin' about?"

If the pineapple had hips, it would be putting hands on them. That is if the pineapple had hands.

"What?" Buck exclaimed, leaning back with a look of disappointment. "That's what you called me away from my friends for? More hair spray?. . . .Oh, like that's an emergency. What next? You run out of sunscreen. Doesn' your hair stand up enough? I work hard all day, an' this is what I come home to. Sometimes I don' even know who you are anymore."

Buck massaged the bridge of his nose. Then his ears perked up as if listening to something surprising.

"You think we need help?" he asked the pineapple. He paused again to listen. "Yeah, I've heard of somethin' like that. Yeah, a marriage counselor. Good idea, luv." He snatched up the pineapple into his arms dynamically. "Hurry an' pack, or we'll miss our train."

* * *

><p>Frost noticed that her cousin was very quiet as they made their plans for departure. Frost was also concerned that they would be flying up to the hole in the ice, but her cousin came first. Normally she would wheedle Tundra into talking about what was wrong, but it was obvious it was about Buck. For that, Frost wanted to walk up to the weasel and kick him multiple times in the softest parts of his flesh. That might make her feel better, but not her cousin.<p>

There was nothing she could do but let broken hearts heal. At least Tundra will be able to get back to her real life, and not this fantasy of being stuck with a heroic figure in an isolated paradise.

"Now, Frost, I don't want you freakin' out. You'll scare them away," Tundra told the white mink.

Frost blinked and felt fear creeping all around her. She was sure her cousin said those exact words because she wanted Frost to be afraid.

Tundra had flowers the size of sloth bellies in her paws and handed one to Frost and one to Eddie. "If you feed them first, they'll be more likely to fly where you want them to go."

"What are 'they'?" Frost asked, looking around for something large and with sharp teeth.

"The giant butterflies, duh," Tundra said, giving a fake smile. She then bent over and picked up part of the ground. Underneath was the long body of a giant butterfly, it's wings blending perfectly with the grass and leaves. "They make better transportation than pterodactyls."

Tundra then pulled out yards of vines cut in different lengths. "You two, feed a butterfly. We'll ride double since that's all one can handle. Crash, take one vine to tie around you and Frost. I'm leaving her to you to take care of."

"I thought I would ride with you," Frost said uncertain.

Tundra started looping a vine around her arm. On one end of the vine, a raptor claw was tied. "I have to anchor us to the ice, and I need Eddie to steer for me," she explained.

Frost nodded, but still turned green.

The process of preparing the butterflies, getting on them and flying up into the air was interesting for the mammals, but went off without a hitch. Once aloft it took them a while to locate the hole in the sky. And as Tundra attempted to anchor the vine, Crash and Frost flew in lazy circles and avoided crashing into each other. On her fifth throw, the raptor claw finally caught on the ice and held. She then climbed up the vine followed by Eddie.

With two safely on the ice, the mink and opossum were able to persuade Frost up the vine. And since Crash was tied to her, it made for an interesting scene.

Once her cousin was safely up on solid ice, Tundra started to shiver. Her thinner pelt didn't keep the cold out, and it would take weeks for her to grow her winter coat. She'd need to get home quickly so she wouldn't freeze. Taking one last look down the hole, she was able to glance the green jungle for a while before white mist covered it up. She picked up the raptor claw and started winding up the vine.

"Goodbye, Buck," she told the hole and turned away.

"Oooooooooooooo," a howl called out. It started low and became louder. Crash and Eddie turned around, hearing that it came from the hole.

"Catch!"

A blurry object jumped out of the mist at them, and Eddie caught it more out of surprise than anything else. Once his paws had stopped moving from fumbling he was able to see that he had caught the ugliest pineapple ever created. It seemed to be glaring at him, so he held it far from his body.

Tundra couldn't believe what was happening, so she peered down the hole again. There was a shadowed flurry of wings and a whooping figure jumped through the hole and skidded across the ice with the wild flare he was natural of.

"Buck," the other mammals called, the boys with excitement, Frost from surprise that he wasn't dead from such a stunt, and Tundra from confusion.

"Aye," Buck replied. "I couldn' let you off without a goodbye. Besides, I thought that me an' the wife could use a vacation." He grabbed the pineapple away from Eddie by the stalk and then cradled it with one arm.

"You're going to stay up here?" Crash asked with a big smile.

"You bet your sweet tails," Buck told them. "At least for a while. I showed you my home mammals, now it's your turn. I want you to show me everythin'. An' of course I want to meet your families."

Buck had face the opossums when he talked, and never looked directly at Tundra until the last couple of words he said. This made Tundra stiffen and give him a fake smile.

"Oh, good. I'm sure they'll be glad to meet you," Tundra said, her voice robotic.

"Well, no point in standin' around here until we're icicles," Buck told them, and looked forward. "Let's head on out."

Once Buck started walking away, Tundra rushed to Frost and pulled her in a secretive huddle.

"This is bad," Tundra hissed at her cousin. "We can't take him home. At least not yet."

"Why not," Frost said with a sly smile. "This might actually be fun."

"You don't understand. I haven't told him anything," Tundra said with wide eyes.

"Anything? You mean, you haven't told him about how crazy our family is," Frost said, not worried.

"NO! I mean, yes, I've hinted at a few things, but I didn't get into too much details. But I didn't tell him about the wedding. I didn't tell him I'm engaged or about Rocky."

"Oh," Frost added faintly. "That might be a little trouble."

"Frost, we have to find a way to stall him," Tundra insisted. "I need to get home first and prepare everyone."

"You mean call off the wedding? I doubt that will be too much of a trouble," Frost shrugged. "You've been dead for a long time, and last time I heard, Rocky was engaged to someone else. I think to one of my second cousins."

"That didn't take him long." Tundra relaxed a little, but still looked tense. "I still want to go home first and prepare the family. I think having a daughter come back from the dead and introducing Buck may be one too many surprises to take in."

Frost nodded. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

Before the two minks could plan anything, Crash helped them out.

"Hey, Buck. Let's go see our herd first. Everyone will be excited to see you. And Peaches has grown so much," Crash called out to the weasel.

"Alright. Lead the way," Buck commanded with a wild grin. "Come on, minks. You're slowin' us down," he called behind him.

Tundra was about to make an excuse that she needs to see her family first, but Buck grabbed her paw and yanked her away. Frost followed quickly, keeping to Tundra's side.

"But Buck. . . ," Tundra tried to explain again.

"Oh, come on mammal. You've played with dinosaurs. A couple of mammoths are going to be nothing," Buck told her, not listening to anything she said.

After a few more attempts, Tundra allowed herself to be dragged along. She even took a lead for a while to help avoid the mink community. It wasn't long before they came to the other communities where most species were happy to mingle with each other. It was something that Tundra suddenly realized about minks. They preferred to stay among themselves and not socialize with other species. Could she go back to that suffocating stuffiness?

And as they walked, Tundra thought about how her world would be from now on. When she went home, her family would still see her as the old Tundra. She'd have to convince them that things would be different, and she'd have to have some changes. But what would those changes be? What would she tell her parents? She obviously couldn't tell them everything that went on down in the jungle. But if they met Buck, she might as well have. Buck would tell them everything and more.

And what would her parents think of Buck? How would she keep them from killing each other?

More and more problems entered her mind, and she wished she had a day more to think things through. Buck's presence was too much of a surprise. She definitely had to find away to stall Buck long enough to get things settled with her family.

She'd have to get the opossums to help, and immediately moved toward the boys to whisper her fears and request their help. They readily agreed, glad for the challenge and spending more time with Buck.

While Tundra was planning with the two mischievous marsupials, a mammoth came over the horizon, spotted the group, and came charging at full speed toward them.

"Ellie!" the boys shouted, recognizing their sister. They waved and called to her happily. That is, until they saw her expression of anger on her face, in which they turned tail to run. But they didn't get fair before a fuzzy trunk grabbed their tails and yanked them up to her eye level.

"Where have you been?" Ellie yelled at her brothers, and shook them. "I've been worried sick these last few days. I've had the whole herd searching all over. I thought a hawk had eaten you for dinner."

"Don't kill us," Eddie cried out.

"We can explain," Crash protested.

"Oh, you better," Ellie demanded. "If you don't have a good excuse, I'll tie you to Sid and you'll never leave his side for the rest of your little lives."

"We went to save Tundra," Eddie shouted, tears of fear coming to his eyes. "Look, she's down there. She's not dead."

Ellie, so focused on her naughty brothers, finally noticed the three other mammals on the ground. She recognized Frost, and saw the reddish brown mink next to her with some of the same features. The mammoth dropped the two opossums and starred for a while. Then she dropped her head down and pulled the two minks in a trunk hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you are alive," Ellie cried out happily.

Tundra gasped at the powerful hug. "But I barely know you," she was barely able to say.

"That's alright. Frost and I are good friends," Ellie told her. "I feel like I already know you."

"That's right, girl," Frost nodded. When Ellie let them go, she bumped fists with Ellie's trunk.

"She talked about you all the time," Ellie explained further. "But how did you survive. I thought you fell down a glacier."

"No, I fell a bit further than that," Tundra said, smiling brightly. "In fact, you might know the place. Especially since we now have a common friend." She gestured a paw to the last mammal that Ellie failed to see right away.

"Buck!" Ellie exclaimed, her trunk tossed in the air in surprised. "Well, isn't this day full of surprises. Wait a minute, I thought the way to dinosaur land was destroyed."

"There's another way," Tundra told the mammoth. "It's slightly more vertical than the way you took."

"Oooo, this sounds like an interesting story," Ellie told them. "I can't wait to here it. But first, Buck what are you doing here? I thought you couldn't leave Rudy alone," she said with a knowing smile.

"I'm on vacation," Buck told her with a grin. "I've brought the little woman with me." He held up the pineapple.

For a second Ellie was entranced by the piece of fruit, and everyone waited to see what she'd say about the hideous pineapple.

"Hi!" Ellie greeted with enthusiasm and a wave of her trunk as if she were seeing an old friend. "Welcome to the Ice Age."

Eddie and Crash exchanged looks at each other. Classic Ellie.

"Come on, guys. Let's get going," Ellie told them, and started lumbering off.

"Wait, isn't home that way?" Eddie asked, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Our home, but not Tundra's," Ellie told them. "She needs to go home and see her mom right now." Ellie had strong feelings about being a mother, and knew if it was her, she'd want to know her daughter was alive. "Oh, I can't wait to see her face. And then we can tell that Rocky guy. Yay, I can't wait. Can I come to the weddi. . ."

About this time, Crash and Eddie lept at their sister's mouth and closed it. Seeing that it was an awkward situation, they pretended to miss Ellie so much they had to hug her fiercely.

"Okay, you guys are definitely scaring me," Ellie told them and waited for them to slid off her trunk.

"But what about Peaches," Eddie brought up quickly. "We haven't seen her yet. Where is she?"

"Manny's watching her," Ellie told them.

"Oh, I really want to see her," Crash played on. "I bet she misses her uncles."

"Yes, we must go see her. And she needs to see Buck too," Eddie added.

"Yes, stay with us tonight," Crash hurriedly told Buck. "You should be our guest and see everyone."

Ellie knew when her brothers were up to something, and this was definitely something. However, she saw the two minks watching her, and knew this was something the girls needed. Whatever it was, she'd find out eventually.

"Alright, we'll go see Peaches. But Tundra definitely needs to go home and see her mother," Ellie insisted. When she saw everyone's faces brighten up, she knew she said the right thing.

Tundra nodded as if this wasn't her idea. "Yes, I really think I need to leave. My family must be worried." That's when she turned to Buck. "I hope you have fun. I'll come back tomorrow. I'll need some time with my family alone." Tundra thought her words sounded false and someone rehearsed, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Ah, go. You don' need me around anymore, mammal," Buck said with a wave of a paw. "Besides, the wife an' I haven' been away since the honeymoon, haven't we sweetheart?" He hugged the pineapple.

Tundra thought she knew what was different about Buck. There was a different gleam in his eyes. It was a look of madness, but not his usual kind. He had lost a bit more sanity. But Tundra shook this off. Buck was always a bit mad, that's what made him Buck. This might even be usual for the weasel to have cycles of insanity and sanity.

"Well, I'll see you later," she waved to the group, and turned with her cousin away from them.

They had only gone a few yards when a voice called out.

"Wait a moment."

It was Buck again, but minus his pineapple companion.

"I have something I need to tell you," he said, his eyes on Tundra. "It's sort of private." He starred at Frost until the white mink moved out of hearing.

"What is it, Buck?" Tundra asked. Maybe this had something to do with his strange behavior.

"I remember you saying something about a marriage counselor around here. The wife and I have talked about it, and we really think it'll help," Buck told her. "Could you set us up an appointment? I'd really appreciate it."

Tundra blinked at this random new bit of information. "Uh. . .of course. I'll take care of it."

"I'd also like to keep this a secret. I don't want the gossip circles to get a hold of this," Buck said quietly. He waited for the mink to say she'd keep his secret. Then he smiled broadly. "Thank you, Tundra." Then he ran back to the others.

Frost went back to Tundra. "What was that about?" she asked curiously.

"He said my name," Tundra said numbly.

Frost shook her head at her cousin. "I didn't think you had fallen that bad for him. Don't get all moony-eyed for him now. I might just get sick."

"No, it's just that, he never uses my name," Tundra said distantly. And then she realized he hadn't called her Angel-girl since he started acting weird. It was always "guys" or "mammal" or something else. What was going on with him?

With little choice in her situation, Tundra turned around and headed for home without looking back at the weasel.

* * *

><p>Far from the two groups, over mountains and rivers, frozen lakes and pine forests. As far as a human could travel for five days, another group of animals were traveling. But this wasn't like the ordinary group of animals. It wasn't even like an unusual group of animals. These animals traveled on a vehicle. It was crude in it's making, much like the wooden sleds humans make, but it was carved out of ice. It was made of sharp angles, icicles dripping off everything. There was the dead remains of an oak trunk, blackened as if struck by lightning. Dead animal skins hung from the oak trunk, tied to it with leather stolen from humans. The skins were tied in a way to catch the wind.<p>

In essence, it was like the pirate ships that were used on the high seas, but made to go across snow. Animals of all species and breeds were climbing all around it, securing leather straps and rushing to and fro. In front of the ship was a pack mixed with all breeds of sabors and dire wolves.

This vessel was one of the notorious ice pirates, who were constantly on the move. This particular ship was a ruthless lot, a majority of the crew were giant pack rats, foxes and the occasional badger or wolverine.

And the captain was the largest and most dangerous pack rat to ever had lived. After reaching to the top from a many bloody battles, he had earned the name Red Claw. And at that moment, Captain Red Claw was at the stern of the ship, watching as the sabor and dire wolves trudged through the snow. He wasn't looking for something in particular, but sensed something different in the wind. His snout stuck straight out into the cold breeze, taking in all scents and flakes of snow. Legend had it, he could smell a mammoth ten miles away. But it was more than that. It was like his nose held a sixth sense, especially when it came to past debts.

And today he nose was especially keen. To his amazement, he picked up a scent he had not smelled for many long years. Whiskers twitched as he sniffed to make sure, and then grinned devilishly, his yellow teeth clacking together.

"Lads," Red Claw shouted, a voice that had glacier ice and volcanic heat all in one tone. "Change of course."

"But what about the treasure?" a ferret pipped up. The ferret was the first mate, a practical creature who also bended whenever the captain changed his moods. Through his cool, logical thinking, and the way he never showed emotions, they called him Glacier. Not to mention, his blue eyes would turn a whole heard of mammoths to ice. "We've gather quite a haul. We must bury it before we're attacked by another ship." The ferret played on the captain's protective instincts over his treasure as well as his paranoia.

"For once lad, this is more important than treasure," the captain growled.

Some of the crew stopped their work in surprise. What could be more important than treasure? The first mate even asked this same question to everyone's relief. Nobody questioned the captain besides the first mate.

The Captain's answer was one word that made even the dire wolves and sabors stop in their labors.

"Buck!"

* * *

><p>Author: Woot! I'm glad that's over with. And since we went through most of the characters in the story (except for Frost. She told me she'd sue me if I made her do one of these) we'll just have to repeat a few characters. Diego is back through popular demand for his return to tell the teasers for the next chapter. But I had to promise to leave while he gives it. Bye guys. *leaves*<p>

Diego: Is she gone? *sighs* That girl is missing one nut shy of a squirrel's food storage. So, I'm the one in the most demand. Well, thank you everyone. I'm flattered. But seriously, I don't ever want to come back. Ask for Manny or Ellie or Sid to come back, but not me. That girl scares me.

So, let's move on to the teasers. *pulls out paper* It looks like our heroes will soon run into serious trouble. Will Buck escape this new villain on the horizon? Or will he sink further into madness and go Buck-Wild and kill everyone? Will Tundra be able to return home? Or will her family disown her for faking her own death? Will Sid and Manny finally get any screen time in the fanfic? Will Frost start loosing sleep as she is in agony with having to choose either Crash or Eddie as her lover? Will Diego finally realize that he's such a good kitty-cat and come live with me and I'll feed him tuna and shrimp and brush his coat and scratch his ears and. . .wait a minute. . .this shouldn't be here. It goes on. . .for three pages!

That's it, I want a restraining order. I'm leaving. I don't care if Peaches gives me those big, soft eyes at me, I'm definitely leaving. At least until this fanfic business is over with. It's really creeping me out.


	9. Chapter 9: You're Not Listening To Me

(Author's notes: Be warned. I have a lot of chapter and author's notes (as well as what I thought about the fourth movie), but they will be saved until the end of this chapter, since many of you have been waiting a long time for me to update. Also, I'm putting the last scene of the last chapter up as a review because the scene is very important for this chapter. I apologize for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy.)

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 9: You're Not Listening to Me

By Hatashi Kitty AKA Emilou

You're building a case against me, prosecutor, judge and jury  
>We've had this conversation in your head<br>Because I wasn't there you made up what I said  
>Or what I would have said<br>You know me so well  
>You've heard how I am and how I'm going to<br>Heaven knows we've never had this conversation  
>Should I be calling it a condemnation<br>Because you're not listening to me

So na na na na na  
>That's all I'm gonna say<br>Na na na na na  
>You've made up your mind anyway<br>Na na na na na  
>There's nothing I can do<br>So na na na na na  
>Couldn't we be friends if not for you<p>

I feel like the teacher from Charlie Brown  
>All you hear is that wah wah wah sound<br>Maybe I'm a pokemon pikachu  
>That's what comes out when I'm talking to you<br>You're a crusader, you've made me your fight  
>Your superhero name is Mr. Right<br>Instead of trying to understand  
>You tell all your friends how wrong I am<br>Your not listening to me

So na na na na na  
>That's all I'm gonna say<br>Na na na na na  
>You've made up your mind anyway<br>Na na na na na  
>There's nothing I can do<br>So na na na na na  
>Couldn't we be friends if not for you<p>

Can't we be friends  
>Why doesn't it end before a word is even heard<br>I look at you, your attitude  
>Why can't you see that it's not me<br>Oops, I did it again, I see  
>The person I'm talking about is me<br>Assuming you're the enemy in the crosshairs of my verbal Uzi  
>No matter who wins, we both lose<br>No matter who starts, we both choose  
>To keep it going on, and on and on:<br>But lets start listening and see

La la la la la  
>La la la la la<br>Sorry that it got this way  
>La la la la la<br>Next time I won't let it stew  
>La la la la la<br>Couldn't we start over me and you

-Na Na Na performed by Superchick

It was strange being back in the land of the ice. She never realized how cold ice was until she had something to compare it to. She couldn't deny that the white landscape wasn't beautiful, and she loved how the snow muffled all sound. It brought back memories of playing around with Frost when they were just pups, but it also felt stifling. It made her think of loneliness.

"So, what are you going to tell your mom?" Frost asked once Buck, the opossums and mammoths were out of sight.

"Well, definitely not anything close to the truth," Tundra replied flatly.

"Oh, so no mentioning that you've been lost in a tropical wonderland with a wild weasel that you have the hots for?" Frost queried with an innocent look on her face.

Tundra grimaced humorlessly. "Frost, I really need your help. Please, no more joking around."

Frost just shrugged, her face showing indifference. "I thought you'd be happy that Buck followed you."

"No, I'm not. I guess, I sort of am. But I just said good-bye to him," Tundra said while rubbing her arm. The feelings that were going through her heart seemed to be more complicated than she could put into words. The "good-bye" she gave Buck was a line she crossed; that line being a decision of forgetting her feelings for the weasel. And Buck just pulled her back over that line.

Frost, despite her rough nature, could sense her more gentle cousin was having issues with the weasel. However, she couldn't quite comprehend the complicated feelings of wanting to see someone, and not see them at the same time. The white mink didn't understand love at the best of times, and decided not to strain herself by thinking about it too much.

"Then tell me what you want me to do," Frost delegated. "Perhaps it would be best to keep Buck away from the fam."

"No, once Buck has an idea in his head, it's not coming out," Tundra said knowingly. "I'll have to prep mom as much as possible. Thank goodness, it'll just be my parents and the neighbors to worry about."

Frost's eyes widened at that. "Uh. . . Tundra. They're all still here."

"Who?"

"All of them."

"What?! They haven't gone home yet?"

"Well, they did. But they came back for the funeral."

"Whose?"

"Yours."

"Oh."

Tundra was suddenly up against a whole new dilemma. She would have to introduce an unstable weasel to countless aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, etc. It was going to be a nightmare. Not to mention that Buck was acting a bit more unstable than usual, another mystery about the enigmatic mammal. Just when she was thinking she had the weasel all figured out, he threw her for another loop.

No, this wasn't just one of Buck's quirks, this was something else. The change was too drastic. She could see it in his eyes; he was tottering on an edge.

His last words to her after they parted came to her mind. He said he needed to see a marriage therapist. Was this a cry for help? Was he actually asking her to find him a therapist to talk to?

No, more likely he really wanted to fix his marriage. No doubt her parent's therapist would find it unusual, and may not take on Buck's case. Not to mention the embarrassment of explaining the weasel's strange nuptial situation. She could almost feel her cheeks getting redder at the thought. What to do?

_I'm not his mother, nor am I a doctor. I am his friend,_ she told herself. _And if he asked me to get him a marriage counselor, than that is what I'm going to do. And I'm going to introduce him to every member of my family. I just have to do it in a way where they don't all wig out._

"Okay, Frost. This is what we're going to do," Tundra started, once she had organized her thoughts. "We have to do some damage control. Once the news that I'm alive dies down, we'll take a few of my family aside and explain about Buck. Pop-Pop and Grammie should be first. They'll be more understanding and supporting our relationship."

"Relationship?" Frost asked, lifting an eye ridge up in suggestive questioning.

"Our _friendship_," Tundra said slowly, pronouncing the last word very carefully. "I don't know how my father will react, but we should tell him first anyway. As for my mother, she's probably going to go berserk about me coming back. I don't know if she can handle Buck soon after that."

"Really? I'd like to see how Buck will handle her," Frost muttered with a chuckle.

Tundra let her cousin have her fun, but couldn't see the humor in it. That was when the wind picked up and ruffled through her thin fur. She shivered, suddenly realizing that her body was very cold. She guessed that her mind was so preoccupied she didn't notice that her body was trembling uncontrollably. Her teeth chattered like a wood pecker looking for a particularly tasty grub.

"Let's hurry up. I'm freezing."

"Really? Today's pretty warm."

Tundra nearly hit her paw to her head. "I'm so stupid. I shed a few months ago. I don't have a winter coat any more!"

"What? Are you crazy? You'll freeze to death."

"Well, it's not like I had a choice. It was really warm down there," Tundra snapped, her mood getting darker by the minute.

Frost grumbled something inaudible, but relented. "Okay, let's run. That should warm you up."

Tundra was grateful it did. Her mood, also, improved immeasurably when she found out Frost was in no condition to keep up with her. All through their childhood, it had been the other way around. It was only then that Tundra realized how much she had changed, inside and out. Had it been that drastic? What would her family think of her? How would they react?

Tundra felt a knot of dread claw into her heart, and she had an instinctual desire not to return home. The stem of it came from questions that raced through her mind. Would her family like the changes she'd been through? Would they accept her as she is now? Or would they want her to return to what she was before she ran away?

Tundra recalled a feeling of waking up from a night's worth of fitful dreams and little sleep. Her brain was sluggish, and it felt like ice was melting off of it. It caused her eyes to go slightly unfocused, and it was hard to think about anything other than the basic needs.

That's what it felt like going home again.

Everything was familiar, yet it wasn't. Everything was just as it was when she left, but it was different. No, that wasn't right. She was different. She was a stranger in a familiar land. She wasn't sure if she should cry or run away. But she did neither since her body felt sluggish from the cold. She needed to get somewhere warm.

But all thoughts left her when she saw a mink's head slowly rising through the burrow entrance. She stopped as she recognized the face. She couldn't move as the mink's countenance slowly changed from disbelief, then broke out in a smile.

Tundra couldn't help herself; tears came unbidden to her eyes as she ran toward the mink.

"Daddy!" she cried out, realizing how much she missed being home.

When her body collided with her father's, she suddenly felt the anxiety and the feeling of not belonging melting away like the cold away from the heat of his fur. His arms wrapped around her protectively, and they made no sound as they sat in reverent silence.

Tundra couldn't think of a better way of coming home. This is how it is suppose to be, the feeling love and peace enveloping her. It wasn't something she experienced very often, so she cherished it above all.

"Honey, is someone there?" a female voice called from the tunnel.

Father and daughter both opened their eyes at the same time and turned their heads to the opening.

Tundra's mother moved slowly and backwards as if she were dragging something outside. Because of this, she didn't immediately see who her husband had in his arms.

"Honey? Are you alright?" she asked again, and turned her head to look at the two minks. "Who is-?"

Tundra smiled timidly as her mother stopped in mid-sentence and stared at her. "Hi mother," she said softly.

Tundra's mother dropped whatever she was dragging, and stumbled out into the snow with a look of disbelief. Once she was in front of her daughter, she stopped. With a trembling hand, she reached up and cupped Tundra's cheek. "Tundra?" she asked, a slight laugh in her voice.

"Yes, mother. It's me," Tundra said, feeling more tears come down her face. Tundra then grunted as her mom pulled her face into a bosom hug fiercely. She felt like she was a young pup again.

But the tearful reunion didn't last long. Her mother let go with a look of amazement on her face. "You're not dead," she stated with wide eyes.

"No, I'm not," Tundra said, suddenly uncomfortable. She expected her mother to demand an explanation.

"You're not dead!" her mother said again. Then she turned around and ran through the snow without an explanation.

"Mother?" Tundra said as she felt reality leaving with her mother. _What was that about?_

"Where is your mom going?" Frost asked as she joined the two minks.

Both Tundra and her father shrugged as they watched the running mink disappear.

"Maybe she wanted to tell everyone I'm still alive," Tundra guessed, thinking how much her mom liked to spread news, even if it wasn't always good.

Tundra felt pressure on her paw, and saw that her father had picked it up in his own. She smiled up at him lovingly as he led her to the burrow. That was when she realized how thin he was. His red-brown fur that was so like her own wasn't as shiny as it should be. She felt guilty knowing that her absence was the cause.

"Is Pop-Pop and Grammie still around?" she asked as they entered the tunnels.

Her father nodded with a small smile.

"Good, I have a great story to tell them," Tundra said.

Frost snorted. "You're grandmother isn't going to be happy. She was sure that she had predicted your death correctly."

They all laughed at that as they moved as one down the tunnels.

* * *

><p>"Oh, you should see how big Peaches is. She's grown up so much," Ellie gushed continually.<p>

Eddie and Crash both acted like they wanted to throw up when she wasn't looking.

"She's so cute when you play peek-a-boo with her. She laughs so much. And she just loves her uncle Diego so much," Ellie added, talking more to Buck than to her brothers. "She even has a cute little nickname for him. Digo! Isn't that adorable?"

Buck rode on one of Ellie's tusks, the pineapple cradled in his arms. His facial features seemed very bizarre. One minute he'll act like he was paying attention to what Ellie was saying, the next his eyes would wander the white landscape with hunched shoulders and clenched paws. Other times he'd stare off into space, a crazed look in his one eye as if he were looking at something afar off. The opossum twins (who sat on Ellie's other tusk) found this a little more disturbing than the usual Buck. Ellie didn't seem to notice.

"Wait, Peaches is talking?" Eddie asked, looking appalled. "We missed her first words."

"Yep. That's what you get for running out on us," Ellie said with narrowed eyes. "She has names for all of us. She calls Sid Poo-poo."

"That's a no brainer," Eddie mumbled.

"Hey, I think I can see her," Crash said, and stood up on Ellie's trunk, paw up to block out the sun.

They all peered to the horizon, and could see something puffy bouncing around in the powdery snow. When the wind died down a bit, they could hear faint giggling.

"That's my girl," Ellie said warmly. "Hold on, boys. This momma wants her baby." Without further ado, Ellie charged up the icy slope to where the unusual herd's home was.

Once in sight, Peaches squealed at the sight of her mother and rushed downward to meet her.

"Peaches!" Crash and Eddie shouted and jumped from Ellie's tusk to the ground to go greet their niece. However, it wasn't the welcome they expected.

Peaches, at the sight of the two long bodies running toward her, stopped in her tracks and started to whine as a baby only can.

"Huh? What's wrong, Peaches?" Eddie asked, stopping as well.

"It's Uncle Eddie and Crash," Crash said, his arms opened in front of him as if expecting a hug.

Peaches only sidled around them, and ran to hide behind her mother.

"Is she alright?" Crash asked, concern all over his face.

Ellie patted her daughter on the head with her trunk. "She's fine. But she did cry an awful lot when you left, and I guess she hasn't forgiven you."

Eddie's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, Peaches. I'll never leave you again."

Crash rolled his eyes. "Dude, we live with our sister. No wonder we never get dates."

Ellie looked around, expecting to see a larger body nearby. Instead, the round waddling body of a sloth approached her. "Hey, Sid. Where's Manny?"

"He went to go get more fruit," Sid said with his lisp. "Peaches just loves melons."

"Wait, Peaches is eating solid food," Eddie said with moist large eyes. "Did we miss everything in the past two days?"

"Yep. And she has a tooth now, too," Ellie said proudly, yet reproachfully at her brothers.

"Those precious memories. Gone so quickly," Eddie said emotionally, and sniffed sadly.

During the bantering and while Eddie started crying into his tail for missing some of Peaches moments, Buck had slipped off of Ellie's tusk to go take a look at the young mammoth. He poked and prodded the young babe, looking up her trunk, and checking her eyes and ears. Peaches found this to no ends amusing, and giggled at the gruff looking weasel.

"Buck, what are you doing?" Ellie asked, one eyebrow raised.

Buck squeezed Peaches's foreleg experimentally. "She round an' flabby, an' doesn't have a single killer instinct. She won' last long in this world."

"Of course she is. She's just a baby," Ellie said with amusement and reproach. She hugged Peaches to her leg. "And you forgot she's just the cutest thing in the world."

"Cute won't prevent you from getting eat'n," Buck said with a wild look. "An' stop mother-coddlin' her."

Ellie looked as if she were going to give the weasel an earful (as well as a trunkful), when she spied her daughter pushing something around in the snow. "Ah, don't do that honey. That's not yours."

Peaches looked up with wide eyes, but pushed the pineapple around a little more.

Ellie was going to reach down and pull the fruit away from her daughter's reach, but Buck stopped her.

"Oh, let 'em be. My wife loves children. She'll make sure yer precious mini-mammoth isn't harmed," Buck said with affection toward the pineapple.

"You have a wife?" Sid asked, ready to make friends with the new mammal. He had been quiet so far since he was trying to remember who the weasel was. "I would never have guessed you'd find anyone down there. It was hard enough being a single parent with three children."

"Nah, we met at one o' those speed datin' things," Buck said with a shrug. "An' after a night hittin' some fermented fruit, BAM, we was married. Couldn't be happier."

Ellie and her brothers made eye contact. All three of them were thinking the same thing. Reality was seriously bent around these two.

"So, where's the little woman?" Sid asked expectantly.

Buck frowned. "Are ya blind, mammal? She's right there," Buck said, pointing with both paws to Peaches and the pineapple.

Sid straightened his back a little as if looking for someone beyond Peaches. "I don't see her."

"Rough brown skin. Green leaves on top," Buck said obviously. "Can't ya see her?"

"What? The pineapple? You're married to the pineapple?" Sid asked in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes at the fruit Peaches was playing with. "That has got to be the most hideous fruit in existence. And I know hideous."

Faster than a saber, Buck had knocked Sid to the snow, his tooth knife at the sloth's throat. "Watch wha ya say about someone's wife. You got that, mate?" Buck said in a dangerous growl.

Sid tried to sink further into the snow. After a while, he managed to squeak out, "Got it."

Buck jumped up, and tossed his knife back into the sheaf with a jovial look. "Glad we got that sorted out," he told Sid. He patted the sloth on the back. "We'll be great pals."

"Yeah, we will," Sid said nervously, and slowly scooted away.

At that moment, two dots appeared over the snow hill. One was a dark brown with a little red mixed in. The other dot was smaller, and a tan color.

"Oh, it looks like Daddy is home," Ellie told her daughter, but Peaches was too preoccupied with kicking the pineapple around.

The herd waited for the last two members to approach. Manny had a half dozen melons in his trunk while Diego prowled nearby with one clamped in his jaws. Diego looked very uncomfortable since his teeth weren't made for such work.

"I can't believe you left Peaches alone with Sid," Ellie said with a silly grin on her face once her mate was nearby.

Manny tried to look stoic. "Diego said he saw some melons when he went hunting, and I didn't want to run out."

"Really?" Ellie asked, and looked toward their stock of melons. It was twice as tall as Peaches.

The male mammoth grinned sheepishly, but shrugged it off. "You know how much she eats. And we were only gone a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, you're a real boy scout," Diego muttered as he dropped the melon he had clenched in his jaws. He put a paw up to his lower jaw, and rubbed it as he opened and shut his mouth experimentally. "That's the last time I'm doing that. I think I dislocated something."

"Well, thank you for taking care of the baby," Ellie said, putting her trunk onto Manny's. "You've certainly earned that father of the year award."

Manny smiled warmly at his wife, but pulled away when he saw Sid looking up at him with a gushy look. "What? Finding melons in the middle of the Ice Age? That is nothing," he tried to say modestly. "Anything for my little Princess. Where is she? Come to Da- WHAT is that thing in her mouth!?"

Manny nearly jumped when he saw that Peaches was gumming some hideous, and obviously mutated object that couldn't be from this Earth. He reached down with his trunk, and cautiously pulled it out of his daughter's mouth.

"Who gave her this. . . whatever it is?" Manny asked, skeptically eying the object.

"That's me wife," Buck said as he jumped onto Manny's tusk.

The appearance of the weasel startled the mammoth once more, and he dropped the saliva covered pineapple.

Buck deftly caught his pineapple wife while still keeping his balance. "Jumpy as usual," he commented, giving Manny a wild grin.

"Hey, Buck!" Diego called out, excited by the appearance of the wild mammal. "You're still alive, you sonnofa beaver."

"Rudy ain't got me yet," Buck growled happily. He jumped down from Manny's tusk onto Diego's back. "I thought I'd come up, an' check on my favorite mammals."

"I didn't think you'd ever leave Rudy," Diego told him. "There's nothing up here that comes close to that adrenaline rush."

"You got that right, mate," Buck said, and sniffed loudly. "But me an' the missus decided we needed a vacation, if you don' mind us bunkin' with ya."

"Not on your life, psycho," Manny muttered.

Ellie quickly hushed him with a glare.

"He saved all our lives," Ellie told him with a hiss. "You even wanted him to join the herd."

"Yeah, that was before I was a responsible parent," Manny told his wife. "I don't want him near my daughter."

"You let Sid watch Peaches," Ellie argued.

"Sid is stupid, not INSANE," Manny hissed back.

"Buck, you're welcome to stay with us as long as you want," Ellie said as she turned away from the male mammoth. "We're happy to have you."

Manny rolled his eyes skyward, but knew there was nothing he could do to change his wife mind. He just had to roll with the punches. It didn't mean he had to like it or support it. However, a death glare from Ellie made him speak up as well. "Yeah, yeah. Mi casa, su casa," he mumbled and stomped away broodingly.

* * *

><p>In a thicket not too far away from where the unusual herd stayed, and also not far away from Tundra and her family's tunnels, a group of minks had gathered together in a grand group. All were brushed and groomed very nicely, with pretty flowers adorning their fur. Most of them were sitting on rocks or logs that were placed in rows. In the middle of the sitting minks was a cleared pathway lined with flower petals. At the front were a group of male minks on one side, and a group of female minks on the other, all standing to attention and facing the audience.<p>

This was obviously a wedding, and they were waiting for the bride to arrive.

Instead, Tundra's mother came running down the isle, yelling that they have to stop the wedding. The minks burst into a clatter of voices as the female mink interrupted the ceremony. Already, those who recognized her were whispering about the latest gossip involving her daughter. Soon, everyone knew that Tundra had been the groom's earlier fiance, and that she had died a few months ago. There was a smattering of rumors being spread; stories and surmises of all kinds jumped from mink to mink. One was that the groom hadn't waited long to find someone else to marry, which told of his sensitivity. Some thought that Tundra's mother was so grieved that she thought that this was her daughter's wedding. A few stood up after a small rumor spread that the groom had murdered Tundra, and the mother was coming for revenge.

The rumors grew bigger once Tundra's mother stopped by the elderly mink at the very pinnacle of the wedding who would wed the two minks together. Tundra's mother talked to him, and then started to talk to the groom. Soon the grooms' and bride's parents came up to the group, and they were all discussing something in whispers. The audience hushed their rumor-mongering and strained to hear what was being exchanged.

After a while, the elderly mink stepped forward and raised his paws in the air for silence, which didn't take long. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm afraid that I have some news that some of you may have guessed the nature of. Under certain circumstances, I am obliged to call this wedding off. It appears that this good mink," he gestured to Tundra's mother before continuing on, "had arranged with the groom's parents that their son should marry her daughter. It was called off because the daughter was reported dead. That appears to be a misleading lie now. She, in fact, was only missing. She has now returned, and this mink demands the groom's parents to uphold their bargain. I am inclined to agree. I'm sorry that you have gathered here for nothing."

Once more the audience burst into a cacophony of voices, this time louder than before. The only other noise came from a young female mink in the back that was holding a bouquet of white roses. She dropped the bouquet and ran off sobbing as loudly as she could.

Tundra's mother stood in the front, accepting a few congratulations of a few minks she knew or was related to. She looked as smug as a saber that just cornered a helpless infant gazelle.

* * *

><p>Down in the ground, away from the chilling air and snow, a group of minks sat in a hollowed room. It was the biggest room Tundra's family had dug out, and if it wasn't for a tree's roots, they wouldn't have been able to make such a big den. A normal room usually had room for two minks to move around comfortably, but this one could fit a dozen or more if they didn't mind bumping into each other. Right now, Tundra's grandparents, her father, Frost, two uncles, one aunt and a pawful of cousins sat around Tundra as she told her story.<p>

She wasn't planning on telling anyone the full story until they had met Buck, but a few of the cousins were very young and they spotted the knife she kept tied to her back. That started more than a few questions being pushed at her. Tundra tried to give them simple answers, but soon she had been encouraged to tell the whole story. Everyone was engaged as the tale was spun. There was gasping, sighing and laughter all at the right parts, and question after question fired at her from everyone until they realized she'll get to the answers eventually. Of course, she left out a few personal details, but every other danger-filled moment was retailed with dramatic reenactment.

She was to the part where she and Buck were rescuing the baby T-Rex from the killer plants when another mink came into the tunnel. Her presence caused a wave of quiet that started with those who spotted her and spread quickly until it ended with Tundra.

"Mother!" Tundra squeaked out in surprise, standing up quickly. With nothing more to say, she just popped out the question that was on her mind. "Where did you go?"

"Mmmm? Oh, I had an errand to run," the older mink said as she went to her daughter. She rubbed her daughter's shoulders and then started patting down a tuft of fur on her head. "Darling, your fur is so dry. You know you should condition it after washing. And you look so thin. You should eat more, and keep up your strength."

Tundra starred at her mother in disbelief. "Mother, I came back after being missing for months, and, your first action is to run errands and criticize my appearance."

"Tundra, you know I love you," her mother said as she cupped Tundra's chin. "I truly missed you. Besides, my little side trip was for you, sweetheart."

Tundra raised an eyebrow. _I almost forgot how much of a confusing female my mother is,_ she thought to herself.

"That's enough," Tundra's grandpa said grumpily. "Clarissa, you can talk to your daughter later. Tundra was in the middle of a great story."

"Story?" Tundra's mother asked. She looked around and looked as if she didn't realize there were more minks in the room.

"Tundra's telling how she found dinosaurs," one of the little cousins chirped up. He was bouncing on his seat excitedly."

"Dinosaurs," Tundra's mother said with a smile that said she didn't believe it. "Well, I'm sure she can finish her fairy tale tomorrow."

"It's not fairy tale," a younger cousin said who had her tail in her mouth. "She fell through the ice, and a big terra-duck-tile caught her and took her to a nest."

"Yeah. They were going to eated her," the first cousin said with wide eyes.

"Tundra, please don't tell your cousins wild stories," Tundra's mother ordered with a glare. "You'll keep them up all night."

"Buck isn't a wild story. And neither is Rudy," a third cousin shouted. He was older, and quite captivated by Tundra's adventure.

The female mink narrowed her eyes. "Buck and Rudy? Are they dinosaurs?"

"No, Buck's a weasel. He saved Tundra, and taught her how to fight dinosaurs," the older cousin said, and bared his teeth like Rudy.

"Well, he didn't exactly," Tundra said, wilting under the gaze of her mother. When she concentrated on her younger cousins, her confidence came back. "He taught me how to survive in that savage jungle. Because if you don't – CHOMP – and you're somebody's dinner." She also pulled out her knife to scare them a little more.

The cousins laughed at her scary voice and the actions she used.

"Oh, for glacier's sake, Tundra. Do you want them to have nightmares?" the older mink said with a wave of her paw. She glared down at the knife. "And where did you get such a dangerous thing? Put that away."

Tundra did so timidly, feeling small under her mother's look.

"And as for these silly tales of Buddy and Ruck. . ."

"Buck and Rudy," the little minks corrected their aunt in unison.

"Whatever. If you tell strange stories like these, who knows what the neighbors will think of you," Tundra's mother said, looking worried.

"Mother, they're all true. I'm telling them what happened to me while I was gone," Tundra said, trying to smile. "I really did see dinosaurs and my friend, Buck, he saved me so many times. It was so much fun. An adventure. An actual adventure."

"I knew those silly pirate stories would give you ideas," Tundra's mother muttered and glared at the elderly male mink that was waiting patiently for the story to continue. "Dear, nobody will believe you saw dinosaurs. We all know they are extinct."

Tundra looked around the room at everyone's faces. Her little cousins looked up with bright eyes, pure belief in their faces. But as for the adults, they looked sheepishly at her as if her mother's words were true. Even her father looked skeptical in his own quiet way. The only ones who were on her side, beside the little ones, were her grandparents.

"I saw them, too," Frost said in her usual devil-may-care attitude. "I went looking for her a few days ago, not that any of you cared that I disappeared too."

Tundra's mother didn't seem all that impressed. "I'm sure you sound terribly convincing. But it's now time to put away these fantasies, and start living in the real world."

Tundra's ears had slowly lowered to her head until she looked cowed, and she slightly curled up into herself. The only one who noticed this was her cousin, Frost.

The white mink knew the kind of influence Tundra's mother had on her entire family. She had been witness to what it did to her cousin all her life. Frost was the only one who knew the real Tundra Growing up, Tundra was timid, and allowed herself to be bullied by her mother. Frost never persuaded her too much, knowing it was hard for Tundra to stand up to her mother. However, Frost was hoping that a few months with Buck had strengthened her self-esteem, and given her courage enough to lead her own life. But in a matter of minutes, the toughened, bright-eyed Tundra that had burst out of a hardened shell, had disappeared. The white mink couldn't believe the transformation.

It broke Frost's heart to see the real Tundra was fading away. She had a feeling that unless she did something, Tundra wouldn't recover.

"I'm not as convincing as Buck," Frost said smugly. "He's coming over tomorrow."

A few of the adults gasped at that, and the young minks went into a frenzy.

"You mean, he came with you?"

"Can we meet him?"

"Did he bring Rudy?"

Frost gave her aunt a cheerful smile as she felt a cold stare. "Yeah, he'll meet all of you. Tundra wants to introduce him to the family."

Tundra slapped a paw over her face. This was not how she wanted to break the news to her mother about Buck. She could already feel her mother's glare shift from Frost to her. She looked up to confirm it.

"Tundra. . . ?"

The thought of Buck emboldened her. She straightened her back to look her mother straight in the face. "If you hadn't run off, mother, I would have told you earlier," Tundra said in a firm but quiet voice. "Buck has done a lot for me, and he came all this way to make sure I came home safely. The least I could offer him was invite him to see our home and entertain him for a time. He's my friend." The last sentence was said tentatively. Tundra knew what her mother would think if she were friends with a weasel.

"A friend?" her mother repeated with a raised eyebrow.

Everyone in the room watched the drama unfold with wide eyes and ears. This was good stuff. There hadn't been any new gossip for a while from Clarissa's family. However, the tone of voice and facial expression of the female mink was unreadable, yet it gave everyone chills.

Tundra's mother smiled warmly, but there seemed to be an underlying emotion that said she wasn't happy. "And he saved your life," she said with her fake smile. "Then I guess I should show my appreciation as well. He did save my only child, and brought her back to me."

"From dinosaurs," Frost reiterated stubbornly.

Tundra's mother's smile broadened. "Well, then that does call for a celebration. My daughter's life spared, _and_ the existence of dinosaurs," she looked at Tundra. "Let's have a party then. Everyone will want to know that you are alive. And they can meet you're charming _friend._"

Tundra's face appeared long. "Everyone? No, that's alright. Just a small dinner. He's not a very social mammal."

"Come on. Let me do this," Tundra's mother pleaded, looking more sincere. "I haven't seen my daughter in moons. That's cause for celebration. We'll invite the neighbors, and it's a good thing all the family is still on this side of the woods."

Tundra opened her mouth to protest, but didn't have the energy after talking with her mother. She nodded softly, and looked away from her mother.

"Then it's settled. We'll throw it tomorrow night," Tundra's mother said, clasping her paws together. "I have so much to do, so much planning. You can return to you're little story, dear. I'll get out of the way." With that, just as sudden as her arrival, the female mink was gone.

"Weird!" Frost whispered to her cousin. "I don't trust that mammal, Tundra."

Tundra was rubbing her forehead in frustration. It felt good to be back home until her mother came home. And now she had to deal with family craziness along side with whatever Buck was going through. She was going to need serious therapy.

Therapist!

Tundra suddenly remembered some of the last words Buck said to her. She needed to find him a marriage counselor. Without thinking further, she ran after her mother without a word to Frost.

"Hey, Mother, wait up," Tundra called down the tunnel so she could catch up with the mink.

"Hmmm. Oh, what is it, sweetie?"

"Um," she stuttered, realizing that popping the question out of nowhere would be strange. "Hey, thanks for the party-thing. I'm sure Buck will feel welcomed by it."

_That was so lame,_ she thought to herself.

"Anything for you, Tundra," her mother said with a modest pose. "After all, we need to show others how _proper_ mammals should act."

The underlying insult stung at Tundra's pride, but her heart wasn't in for another argument. Instead, she just wanted to get away from the female. "Um, Mom. Is that badger therapist still around?" she just blurted out without explanation.

"Dr. Honeybee? That sweet doctor that saved your father's marriage?" Tundra's mother asked sweetly. "Why yes? He just helped my sister get through a bitter divorce. It was too bad he couldn't salvage that wreck, but what can you do? Not everyone is as solid as my marriage."

Tundra's heart fell even further. Was it just because she'd been gone so long and wasn't used to it, or was her mother a little more backbiting than usual? Maybe the news of Buck aggravated her mother more than usual, and she was just lashing out to relieve stress.

"Um, yes. I need to talk to him. Where's his office?"

"But he's a marriage councilor, darling," her mother scoffed. "Don't you think it's a little too early to think about that?"

"Huh?" Tundra asked in confusion.

"Well, if you need to see a therapist, then let's find someone else. From what I heard from your story telling and about this Buck character, you probably do need one."

Tundra was about to tell her mother that the therapist wasn't for her, but for Buck. But then she thought of what her mother would say about Buck with a rocky marriage, not to mention that his wife was a pineapple. Sure, Buck was eccentric, but she had a feeling her mother would drag his name through the mud. Tundra had an overwhelming desire to protect Buck from any besmirching, even if he wasn't there to witness it.

"It's none of your business, mother," Tundra pronounced firmly. She then turned her tail to the other mink, and left. She'd get the information somewhere else.

* * *

><p>Ice pirates lead a horrible, and dangerous life. Not only do they have to protect themselves from the elements of nature, predators and anyone who wants revenge for some misdeed they committed, but they also have to watch out for their fellow pirates. There's a pecking order to an ice ship of brigands, and each is looking for an opening to move upward. But at the same time, they have to watch out for those lower on the totem pole.<p>

It wasn't any different on the Blight, which was the name of Red Claw's ice ship.

Captain Red Claw had done some despicable things to get where he was, and each one he was proud of. He bragged and brayed about each and everyone of them. Except one.

Everyone knew that long ago, there was one mammal that had gotten the best of Captain Red Claw. This mammal had given it back plus more to Red Claw, and had gotten away with it.

That mammal was Buck. And every pirate knew that anyone who managed to mutter the weasel's name would loose a limb at best. Which was why nobody dared to breathe once the Captain growled out that forbidden name.

And now, at the behest of their leader, the dire wolves and sabers were working overtime to travel night and day and night once more. Everyone was tired, but nobody was willing to say anything to their leader. The insane gleam in the pack rat's eyes spoke of death to those who stood in his way.

"I think we should take a break."

The crew swung their heads as one to see who dared tell the Captain what to do.

"It would do no good to kill the crew," Glacier said in a calm tone.

Every animal on the ice ship, worked frantically while keeping ears open to the conversation. Glacier had often reasoned with Captain Red Claw on occasion, but that was usually when the pack rat wasn't in one of his moods. This could only end in blood. The question was: Whose?

Captain Red Claw had proved his ability in combat, often in front of the crew. He preferred to fight to an audience. His front teeth had been filed down in a sharp point which he used to end his fights, and he also kept daggers made from the bones of his victims. But his favorite weapon were his claws, which was where he earned his name. There was no doubt that Red Claw was a violent and dangerous mammal.

But Glacier was another matter. Where Red Claw was savage and hot-blooded, Glacier was cool and calculating. Nobody had ever seen the ferret fight, but he held himself with a murderer's confidence. Those of the crew that stood in the way of his agenda had mysteriously disappeared, including Red Claw's previous first mate. In a way, the crew was more terrified of Glacier than their captain. Red Claw will at least give an animal a warning before he'll kill them. But you never know when a knife will appear in the dark or poison in your food if you ever cross paths with Glacier.

Red Claw turned his attention onto his first mate with a deadly glare from his red eyes. "I didn't ask ya what ya thought. I said we're not stoppin' until we find Buck, an' that's just what this crew will do until they do as they're told, or they die," the pack rat hissed.

Glacier wasn't fazed by Red Claw's words. "I realized that you're priorities have changed on a whim, but I just think that we need to consider different tactics."

"Don't use yer fancy words 'round me," Red Claw shouted at the ferret. "Are ya challengin' me?"

"Hardly," Glacier said in a stoic tone. "I trust that your tracking skills know an approximate location of your ex-companion, but I doubt that you could pinpoint his exact location. Nor can you determine how far away his is. Am I correct?"

Red Claw's fiery demeanor cooled a bit at the question. "Well. . .I guess."

"Then perhaps we should send out a scouting party to determine where Buck is, while the crew rests for a few hours. Once we're rested, I would also suggest we travel at a more conservative pace so we don't miss our quarry," Glacier quickly explained, his cold blue eyes staring down at his captain in a way that made everyone uncomfortable. "That way, it will also give you time to plan out your revenge, since I believe that is your goal."

"Plan my revenge? Yes, that I do," Red Claw said softly. "Perhaps, we can rest for a piece. Tell the crew that we'll stop until the sun rises. An' wake the birds. It's time they earned their gruel."

The pack rat and ferret moved away from each other, each to do their own thing. Neither of them noticed a small mouse creeping around among the icicles. He was small for a mouse, which made it easier for him to eavesdrop without being seen. Once the two malicious mammals were busy, the mouse sat up and twitched his whiskers.

Without another word, the mouse scrambled against the ice of the ship, his tiny claws helping him navigate the vehicle. From what he heard, he had to reach the aviary before Glacier. If that chilly-eyed ferret found out what he was going to do, nothing would save his hide.

It was only because Glacier went to talk to the crew first that saved the small mouse, and he arrived to the aviary first.

The aviary was a small room carved out of the ice ship to accommodate a few dozen birds. There were crude branches shoved into ice walls for perches, and the floor was covered in the occupants droppings. It was a usual punishment to clean up the aviary, and most of the crew avoided causing trouble just so they wouldn't have to.

Most of the birds were scavengers: crows, ravens and buzzards. However, once in a while, a bird of prey or even a seed-eater joined up. There was a couple of owls, a eagle that lost one leg, three magpies and a few song birds that looked like their song would make anyone sour.

The little mouse stayed hidden, not wanting any of the birds to see that he was there, especially the owls. There was no punishment for eating a member of the crew. After much scrambling, and careful climbing, he finally reached the perched he wanted.

An old female raven sat on the perch snoring loudly.

The little mouse crawled up the raven's feathers until he sitting on her neck, right behind her head.

"Gilda! Glida!" the mouse shouted in a whisper in the raven's ears.

Having lived with pirates all her life, Gilda knew not to panic when she heard someone whispering her name in a warning tone. Slowly, she lifted her head as if she were naturally waking up.

"Who's there?" she cawed softly, shifting her head around slowly. She had to swivel her head more than others since she was blind in one eye. It was milky from a cataract that inflicted her a year ago. But that still didn't stop her from flying when the need came, although nobody expected her to. Everyone on the ship treated her like a grandmother. She was the oldest member of the ship, and a lot of the crew had been mothered by her at one point or another.

"It's me, Longtail," the little mouse whispered back.

"Ah, Longtail. Have you come to. . ."

"I didn't come to chat. We don't have time," Longtail interrupted. "Red Claw is in a fenzy. He's scented Buck!"

"Buck. I haven't heard that rascal's name in so long," Gilda cackled from her memories. "So, Red Claw is finally after his revenge."

"He's sending out the birds. Glacier will be here in no time with the order," Longtail hissed. "I need you to fly with the flock. I have to warn Buck before Red Claw gets to him."

Gilda's eyes widened. "Dangerous words, little mouse. Are you sure you want to go against Red Claw?"

Longtail knew what happened to traitors and deserters. They were all hunted down and fed to the wolves and sabers. Nobody had gotten away with that kind of treason from Red Claw. Nobody, except one.

"It doesn't matter. I owe Buck my life," Longtail said to Gilda. "If it means keeping Buck out of Red Claw's bloody grip, than so help me, I'll do it."

Gilda stretched her wings stiffly. "Then so be it. I also owe much to that pesky weasel. It'll be good to see him."

A few of the birds on lower perches stirred.

"That must be Glacier. Quick, hide in my feathers," Gilda whispered softly, acting as if she were preening.

Longtail did as he told, trembling a little as he heard Glacier's words ordering the flock to find Buck, leave a few behind to watch over the weasel while the rest return to report. It was said in such a cold way, Longtail shivered despite being cozy in Gilda's feathers.

Soon after Glacier spoke, the flock took to wing. They flew in a messy formation out of the small opening in the aviary, and circled around the mast of the ice ship to gain height before flying in the heading Red Claw had given them. The bird at the apex of the formation was a crow, one who knew Buck.

Longtail knew he'd never be allowed back on the ship and he was flying to a death sentence. His only problem now was staying alive long enough to save a life.

* * *

><p>It had been a hard night for Tundra, being back in her old room. Frost had stayed over because it was too late for her to go home, and Frost made the excuse that she didn't want to be alone right now. But even with Frost's company, Tundra couldn't sleep. She lay in her bed listening to her cousin's breathing.<p>

It wasn't the same room for her anymore. It wasn't her room anymore. It was a room that belonged to a mink that disappeared months ago. She couldn't help getting a feeling of homesickness, but couldn't admit to herself that all she wanted to do was go back down into that dangerous jungle.

The cold of the tunnel wasn't as biting as outside, but it still clawed through Tundra's thin fur. Even huddled up against her cousin's backside didn't keep out the chill. But that wasn't what was keeping her awake. It was the worry of what the next day would bring.

There were so many worries that scrambled across her brain. It was torment to her as she tried to think of why Buck was acting strangely. And then there were the many scenarios of what would happen once she introduced Buck to the family. What would Buck do? What would her family say? How was her mother going to react? Tundra could feel all the muscles in her body tense up more and more as she kept thinking about everything.

Finally, after tossing and turning, Tundra sat up and left her cousin sleeping soundly to walk up and down the tunnels. She did that until the opening of the tunnel started to lighten up. The reddish brown mink didn't wait any further. She decided to leave before anyone else woke up. It was too early to deal with any of her relatives.

The night before, she had asked an aunt about Dr. Honeybee, and had gotten instructions on where his burrow was. Tundra went straight to that burrow to make the appointment for Buck. It was her goal and hope that once Buck received some counseling like he wanted, he'd return home and give her some space to let her feelings for him die out. She just wanted Buck to be normal and happy. It was her opinion that it was her own presence that was messing up his life, and that needed to be rectified.

When Tundra arrived at the burrow, she hesitated to knock on a crude wooden plank that blocked the entry way. For one, it was still a little dark outside. The sun hadn't even peaked over the horizon. Would the badger even be up at this hour? For another thing, weren't badgers grumpy and carnivorous?

Suddenly, this didn't seem like a good idea to her. Tundra's body was trembling from the cold and at the thought of confronting an angry badger. Should she turn around and come back later?

_What? Are you afriad of a little badger? He ain't no Rudy._

The voice suddenly popped into her head as if the weasel himself was standing right beside her. That was all Tundra needed to remember that she had faced off with dinosaurs, giant fish and flesh eating plants. What was one badger to all she accomplished?

Without further hesitation, she knocked boldly on the plank of wood, and waited patiently.

After a while, she heard scraping around in the burrow, and then claws pushing away the plank of wood. On the other side was a frazzled looking badger with a calm look on his face.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Tundra said with a straight back.

"No, no. I've been awake for hours. Insomnia, and all that," Dr. Honeybee grumbled with a shake of his head. "Ironic. A therapist with insomnia. The only patient I haven't been able to help is myself."

Tundra smiled, which made the badger smile as well. She determined that if all badgers were ill-tempered, she found the exception to the rule.

"What can I do for you, m'dear?" Dr. Honeybee asked kindly. "Would you come in for some breakfast?"

Tundra accepted the polite invitation, but felt nervous about what kind of breakfast the badger would be having. To her surprise, the badger's table was set with mostly things minks would eat like nuts, fruit, fish and eggs, although there were also roots, tubors, and a pile of insects. It was only then that Tundra remembered that badger's like to eat the occasional frog or bird, but it the meantime, preferred not to eat anybody.

"Please, help yourself," the badger waved a clawed paw slowly as he settled down himself. "You have the look of someone with much on their mind."

Tundra gave him a thankful smile, and sat down gracefully. She took a few bites of the nutrition before speaking. "Actually, I'm here on behalf of a friend of mine. He's having marriage problems."

The badger looked surprised and disappointed at the same time, but didn't say anything.

"He's from. . .a far off, and asked me to find a therapist for him," Tundra explained further. "I know it's short notice, but I would appreciate it if you could see him and his pi. . .er. . .wife as soon as you could."

The badger ate in silence for a moment and then spoke. "You are quite a friend to be willing to do this for him. I, however, sense there is more to the story than the usual martial differences. I wouldn't usually ask for information before a session, and especially not from a third party, but I'd like you to tell me more about your friend."

Dr. Honeybee's eyes locked onto hers, and Tundra had the feeling that he knew more about her feelings for her friend than she was willing to admit to a stranger.

"His name is Buck, and he's a weasel," Tundra said, wondering if she should stay ambiguous or if she should just blurt everything out. In the end, she realized he was going to find out sooner or later, so might as well get it over with. "And he's married to a pineapple."

This last sentence was said right before the badger took a bite of food, and he promptly coughed as it went down the wrong tube. After composing himself, he admitted, "Never in all my years would I have expected anything like that. If you would, please elaborate. Tell me everything about Buck."

And Tundra did. She told him everything from the beginning, including her running away from her marriage. She, of course, left out all the violent and gory details, sticking with what she knew about Buck. She didn't end until she told the badger about leaving Buck, and how strangely he was acting. At the end of her tale, Dr. Honeybee asked about Buck's past, how he arrived at the dinosaur's land, and how he ended up as the husband to a piece of fruit. Tundra, ashamed, admitted she didn't know anything like that about Buck. It was then that she wondered if she really knew the real Buck. Perhaps he was acting strangely around her, and he had now reverted back to his old self.

The doctor had left the silence hang for minutes. He was scratching his chin with a large claw in thought. After a while, he turned back to Tundra with caring eyes. "I believe I will see Buck this afternoon. Tell him to bring his 'wife' for his appointment."

"Sir?" Tundra asked confused. "But you're a marriage counselor."

"Out of necessity. Marriage therapy pays much more than anything else," the badger said with humor. "I usually do other counseling pro bono, but its been a while since I've taken on a case this interesting."

Tundra realized what the badger was saying. "So you're going to pretend its a marriage therapy session?" she asked, feeling dread in her chest. "But I don't want Buck to change. At least, I want him to be his old, happy self. Please, don't change him. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Tundra was about to bolt out of the den when the badger tenderly stopped her with a careful claw.

"You misunderstand me. My goal isn't to change him, but to help him through whatever issues he's going through," Dr. Honeybee explained. "You're friend seems to be suffering from being isolated for far too long, and has made the pineapple anthropomorphic to deal with the loneliness. That has nothing to do with the personality that you know. I'm sure of it."

Tundra looked at him with a sad face. "I don't even care if he still thinks he's married to that stupid pineapple. He wasn't happy yesterday. That wasn't Buck. He needs to be Buck again."

"Then let me see him just once. Perhaps by pretending to help his marriage, I can find out what is really bothering him," the badger told her. "And to be honest, I don't change people. Mostly I ask questions and listen. It is the patients that have to choose if they want to change."

That explanation seemed to calm Tundra down, and she nodded. "I'll bring him this afternoon. Right before the party."

"A party? Yes, that is good," the badger told her. "Social interaction is good for those who have been isolated."

Tundra thanked Dr. Honeybee for the meal, and said her good-byes before leaving for home.

* * *

><p>Out of an old instinct that Tundra hadn't felt for a while, she avoided her family. She didn't do this to stave off questions and comments about her missing months and the gossip about Buck. She did it because she worried about seeing Buck once more, and about his appointment with Dr. Honeybee. It was irrational for her to be nervous about all this, but she couldn't help herself.<p>

However, when the time came to go get Buck for his counseling, Tundra had an inane desire for everyone's company and to procrastinate the moment. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to go alone, and sought Frost's presence. After asking around after the white mink, Tundra learned that her cousin went home.

Frost, always the black sheep, had left home as soon as she was old enough to take care of herself. She had found a dead oak log that was hollowed out, and took possession of it as her own. It was an independent life that Tundra was always envious of, and, until she had run away, she never had the guts to do likewise.

The hollow tree was like a second home to Tundra, and she didn't even think twice about letting herself in. When she found the front of Frost's home empty, she called out her cousin's name and went in deeper. Tundra didn't hear an answer to her calling, but after a while, she could hear the rustling of dry leaves and bark.

"Frost?"

"Tundra? What are you doing here?"

The reddish brown mink hurried toward the voice, thinking that Frost sounded frantic.

"Are you okay?" Tundra asked, turning into another room.

"I'm fine," Frost shouted a bit too loudly, and rushed to her cousin. There were more sounds of rustling as she ran. Frost met her cousin at the entry into the room, and pushed her back with a big smile. "I didn't know you were coming over."

Tundra raised an eyebrow at Frost's nervous talk, but ignored it. Frost's business was mysterious, and often best left unknown. "I was going to get Buck for his therapy session, but I don't want to go alone. Will you come with me?"

Frost seemed relieved with what Tundra said, and readily agreed. Soon the two females were walking toward Ellie and Manny's home.

"Really? Therapy?" Frost asked once Tundra explained everything. "Finally that weasel is going to get some help. I hope that doctor puts him on something, because he's nuts."

"He is not," Tundra defended.

Frost gave her a look that said "Yeah right. And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you."

"Okay, so he's a little eccentric. But I don't want to him to change. And I don't think he wants to either," Tundra told Frost. "I think he's unhappy right now."

Frost rolled her eyes. "And you think that fixin' his marriage is going to make him happy? Or is it you want the doc to tell him that he can't be married to a pineapple?"

Tundra felt her cheeks heat up out of shame. She had been carrying the guilt that she might have talked to Dr. Honeybee for her own selfish desires. She shook her head to answer herself as well as Frost's questions. "I want whatever is best for Buck."

"Even if that means that he goes back to 'dinotopia' with his tropical love, and you never see him again," Frost said, her voice exaggerating.

Tundra wanted so much to shout out "NO", to say how she really felt, but she didn't want to sound selfish. Instead, she hung her head, accepting that Frost spoke a prediction that was bound to come true.

The white mink frowned at her cousin's reaction. This wasn't what she had hoped for in the shyer mink. She had been looking for certain ideas and answers from Tundra that her questioning should have brought out. But instead, they had the opposite effect. Frost opened her mouth to say something else, but was stopped when Tundra stepped in front of her.

"There's a saber," Tundra whispered and pulled out her knife smoothly. "You run to the trees. I'll make sure he doesn't follow."

Fear stabbed into Frost's instincts, and she was about to spring away to safety, but the saber was strangely familiar.

"I think that's Diego," Frost whispered, not entirely sure of herself.

"Who?"

"One of Ellie's friends."

"A saber and a mammoth are friends?"

"You don't know Ellie. She thinks everyone should be friends."

"Well, are you sure its this Diego tiger?"

"Maybe. Let's check. HEY DIEGO!"

The two minks cowered together with wide eyes to see what the saber-toothed tiger would do. To Tundra's surprise, he pricked up his ears at the noise, looked their way and slowly sauntered toward them.

"Oh, hey. You're Ellie's friend," the saber said in a calm voice. Then his eyes went to Tundra, and he looked a little more interested. "And you're Tundra, right?"

"Yes?" Tundra said suspiciously. "How do you know me?"

"Eddie and Crash talk about you none stop, especially with Buck telling about your escapades," Diego said with a smile. "I gotta say, that was pretty cool how you escaped from Rudy."

"Yeah?" Tundra said, feeling good about being complimented by a saber. "Just don't ask me to do it again for you."

Diego chuckled.

"And speaking of Buck, we're looking for him," Frost hinted that they were looking for directions.

Diego gestured with his head. "I haven't seen him for a while. Why don't you ask the opossums? They've been jumping all over him."

"Kids," Frost said with a smug shrug.

Diego repeated the gesture knowingly.

Before they headed off after Buck, Tundra stopped Diego for a quiet word. "Hey, you knew Buck before I did. Is he acting a little. . . stranger than usual?"

Diego thought about it, and then shook his head. "Naw, same old Buck. Except for that creepy pineapple. That's weird, even for Buck."

Tundra nodded, and let the feline off to do his own thing.

A few more minutes of trudging through drifts of snow brought them to a frequently trampled area. It was soon apparent that the snow had been flattened by very young mammoth feet. Both Tundra and Frost had to dive out of the way as a baby mammoth stampeded passed them, trumpeting and giggling as she went.

"Peaches," Frost explained to Tundra. "She's not even a year old yet. She didn't mean to almost kill us."

"That's comforting," Tundra muttered.

"Peaches! Get back here and eat your lunch," a lisping voice called out. "Oh, hey Frost."

"Hey Sid," Frost called back with a wave.

Tundra held her breath as the sloth went by, not quite believing the awful smell that came from a single _living_ mammal.

"You'll get used to the smell," Frost told her with a shrug.

"I hope not," Tundra muttered. "What's a saber, and a sloth doing in a mammoth herd?"

"The same thing a couple of oppossums are doing in it," Frost said, gesturing to the two racing figures coming toward him.

"Hey, Frost. Tundra," the marsupials called out as they ran by.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing?" Tundra asked, wondering where two goofballs like them were going in such a hurry.

"We're on baby-sitting duty," Eddie shouted at her.

"But I thought Sid was baby-sitting Peaches," Frost yelled back.

Crash answered, "We're baby-sitting Sid as he baby-sits Peaches."

The two females watches as the baby mammoth led the sloth and two opossums on a twisting chase around and around until Sid collapsed from exhaustion, and Eddie and Crash flopped down next to him panting. From there, Peaches heard her pursuers stop, and went back to investigate. She slowly crept up on the tired three, and poked them with her trunk. It was such an intriguing view, the minks went closer to look.

"Do you guys know where Buck is?" Frost asked, walking up to the males.

Sid moved his mouth, but only gasping came out. Finally, he lifted a claw to indicate he needed a moment.

At that same minute, Peaches spotted Frost. Acquainted with the mink on occasion, Peaches wasn't afraid of Frost and walked closer. Jerkily, yet softly, Peaches slowly patted the mink down her back with the tip of her trunk.

"Hey, Peaches," Frost growled as she hunched her shoulders.

Tundra suppressed a laugh, but she couldn't stop her expression from showing. "She really likes you, doesn't she?"

"Is is my fault that I'm softer than any of these morons," Frost grumbled, but patiently allowed the baby mammoth to stroke her fur. Then an evil grin appeared on her face. "Hey, Peaches. Tundra is soft too."

Tundra was given little time to react before Peaches' trunk ran down her back. Even though the little mammoth was trying to be as soft as she could, it still was very strong for a little mink.

However, after a while, Peaches looked disappointed with Tundra, and went back to Frost.

"Ha," Tundra grinned at her cousin. "I'm missing my winter coat. That makes you softer by far."

"At least I'm not cold," Frost growled, and took the rest of her abuse in silence.

"If you're still looking for Buck, he, Manny and Ellie went on a double date," Sid explained, sitting up now that he was rested.

"Well, that's gotta be. . .nice," Tundra said with a fake smile. "When will they be back?"

"Anytime now," Eddie answered. He was now trying to distract Peaches from mauling Frost to death.

"Anytime" to Eddie was a lot longer than any of them thought. They kept busy by taking turns playing with Peaches. The female young mammoth proved to have more energy than all of them. Crash commented that the only one who actually wore out Peaches by himself was Buck, which was very impressive to everyone in the strange herd. However, Tundra came close to keeping up with the little mammoth.

It was only a few minutes after Peaches fell asleep from exhaustion that two large figures in the distance appeared.

"Finally," Frost said, trying to push down her fur from being patted all day by a trunk. "I swear I will never have children, so help me."

Once she saw that they had guests, Ellie walked faster to the group, leaving Manny behind. Careful not to wake her daughter, Ellie spoke in a hushed tone. "I'm so glad you came to see us. Tundra, I've been meaning to ask you about your wedding. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I sure do love weddings. I hope that you'll invite us to it. I'm so excited for you."

"Huh?" Tundra said, not quite grasping the subject of Ellie's words. "Oh, that. I don't think there's going to be a wedding."

"Ah, why not?" Ellie asked, her face full of concern. "Are you two having problems?"

"Did not my cousin explain to you my situation?" Tundra ask, giving the white mink the evil eye.

"Excuse me for thinking you dead," Frost said with a huff.

Tundra rolled her eyes. "Ellie, if and when I get married, I'll make sure you're one of the guests," Tundra said graciously. Then she added under her breath, "Not that that's likely to happen anytime soon."

"Yay," Ellie cheered in a small voice and lifted her trunk happily.

"Yay what?" Manny asked once he was side by side with his mate.

"Oh, nothing. Just girl talk," she answered.

Manny let it be, not wanting to get into girly issues. He merely looked down at the two minks and gave them a polite nod. Unlike most of their friends, Frost was independent and preferred not to hang around for very long. Manny liked her. As for the other mink, if she was related to Frost, how bad could she be?

"Thanks for the ride, mammal," Buck said as he slid down Manny's trunk, pineapple in arm. "Oh, there's some familiar faces."

"Hey, Buck," Tundra said, trying not to sound nervous. "How's the vacation going?"

"Boring," Buck said with a look of disgust. "I haven't had one single life or death experience since comin' up here."

"I'm so sorry to disappoint you," Manny told him drolly.

"'S not your fault, mate," Buck told him graciously. "You've been a great host."

Tundra grinned at Buck's antics. Oh, how she missed him. After realizing she was wearing a goofy smile, she straightened up. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take away your guest for tonight, Manny."

"Ah, that's too bad," Manny said, a twinkle of humor in his eye. "Any chance you could take a few more free-loaders with you? Permanently."

There were three protests issued to Manny's response.

"Hmmmm, I think we could handle one or two," Frost said. "Hey, marsupials. You want to go to a mink party."

Crash and Eddie sat up immediately, ears erect as their attention was focused on Frost.

"You mean the kind of party with snobs and hoity-toity food?" Crash asked, looking hopeful.

"The kind of party where we're sure to be kicked out of?" Eddie asked, his eyes bright.

Frost snapped her digits together. "That sounds like the kind of party Aunt Clarissa would throw," she said with a laugh. "And, yes, you two are invited."

"Sweet!"

Tundra thought about the worries she was going through just thinking about Buck meeting her family. Throwing Crash and Eddie into the mix was enough to give her an ulcer. Yet, the other side of her said, "Might as well, the night is most likely to be a disaster."

"I'm not sure what kind of party it will be, considering my mother is throwing it," Tundra added more information. "It's to celebrate my coming back from the dead. And also to thank Buck for taking care of me."

The weasel perked up at that, and a large wild grin appeared on his face. "A party? For me?" he said in an excited voice, paws on his chest. "Well, I hope your mother puts out a pretty good spread, 'cause I'm ready for some excitement."

Tundra flinched at that. While she was siding with Buck, she knew it was very unlikely that it was going to be true. How at home would Buck be with her family?

"Well, I'm sure whatever my mother is planning, it'll be a surprise," Tundra told him honestly. "But that's not the only reason I came to get you." The mink whispered "marriage counselor" to Buck discretely.

Buck seemed speechless, but expressed his appreciation by slapping her on the back vigorously. "Well, mammals, it seems I must leave you for a while," he told company of odd animals. "But I shall be back this evenin'."

"Stay out as late as you want," Manny told him stoicly. "In fact, feel free to stay there."

"Manny!" Ellie hissed at her grumpy husband before waving them off cheerfully.

"Come on, honey," Buck told the pineapple as he tightened his grip on the fruit before following the two minks.

Frost eyed the tropical fruit with a discerning eye, and could see a few baby mammoth teeth marks on the rough skin. "Sooooo, Buck. How's everyone getting along with your 'wife'?" Frost asked conversationally, her sarcasm lost upon the weasel.

Buck shrugged. "For some reason, nobody seems t' connect with her. Only Ellie's made an effort to make friends with her," Buck said with a grin. "Oh, why am I tellin' you about it? She can tell ya herself. Here." Buck, then, dumped the pineapple into Frost's paws.

Frost, surprised at the turn of events, cringed at the presence of the pineapple. Was it glaring at her? Frost glared back until she realized she was intimidating an inanimate object.

"So, how's it back home, mammal?" Buck addressed Tundra with a jostle of the elbow. "Good to be back?"

"More or less," Tundra answered vaguely. _More of less than of more,_ Tundra told herself with a sigh.

"Back to civilization. I'm sure that you've been looking forward to it for a while," Buck said in his usual Buck way. "I bet your family was surprised with how you've changed, huh mammal?" Buck laughed out loud jovially.

Tundra's heart ached, and she was missing Buck even though he was right there beside her. Wondering if she could help the weasel on her own, she asked a prying question quietly. "Um, Buck. Is there something wrong?"

"What's that?"

"Well, I've noticed that. . .you've been acting. . .different. I was wondering if there's something wrong. Is something bothering you?" Tundra asked, her eyes wide as she stared at Buck for any reaction.

Not once did Buck look her in the eye. Instead, he coolly step around her question. "Different? What are you talkin' about, mammal? I don't have a care in the world," Buck told her, and flashed a wild smile. Once again, this smile wasn't the daring, bold smile of the weasel she knew. This was a glassy-eyed grin, one that showed the owner was slowly leaving reality.

"Please, Buck. You can tell me anything," Tundra almost pleaded.

"Now, stop that," Buck told her, once more, avoiding eye contact. "There's nothin' wrong with me. So quit askin'."

Tundra was surprised by the sharp reprimand. Buck only spoke to her in that tone when she was in danger of something. Did this mean she was at the end of Buck's patience, and he was trying to push her away to put some distance between them? Or was she truly in danger, but this time, the danger was Buck? The thought that Buck threatening her brought chills running down her skin, and her fur stood on end. She didn't say a word, but dropped a few steps behind the others, her head hanging lower than before.

"Hurry up, mammals," Buck called to the minks as he marched ahead. "I don't know where we're goin', and I don' want to be late. We shouldn't keep a doc waitin'."

* * *

><p>With the avian part of the crew gone and the Blight at a complete standstill, the crew of Captain Red Claw's took a much needed rest. Most dropped where they stood, while a few others crawled inside for a much more comfortable bed. Everyone's sleep was the sleep of the exhausted.<p>

However, Red Claw's desire to act on his revenge wasn't stifled for long. After a few hours of rest, he awoke a few members of the crew and ordered them into his cabin. It was time to plot his revenge. And out of the goodness of his heart, he was letting those who knew Buck to join in on the fun.

"Quit that yawnin'. Wake up an' listen," Red Claw ordered in a growl, slapping and kicking a few of his crew that were starting to droop. "And stop mewlin' that you're tired, or I'll give ya something to whine about."

It took only one violent act from the large rat for the rest to pay attention.

"Now open those stuffed up ears of ya, an' listen up. All of ya knew Buck when he was still aboard this ship, an' ya know what he's done to us," Red Claw shouted, his words being used to rally his crew to blood lust. However, the others didn't seem half as excited as the large rat was.

"No. So you've forgotten your hate for him," Red Claw said in almost a whisper. "Then let me remind ya of it."

He walked up to a otter that kept a pair of saber's canine teeth daggers kept around her waist. She was a sleek character, one that felt she had much to prove in a male dominated ship. She acted tough, but was one of the first to make new recruits at home.

"Shadow, you remember how Buck left us when we really needed him," Red Claw tantalized with his darkening words. "Remember how Captain Snarl was going crazy, an' Buck abandoned us to deal with him. Remember how he broke the pirates rule about leaving."

The captain's words spread through her like a plague, her expression turning uglier as each syllable reached her ears. Finally, she pulled out a dagger, and brandished it at thin air.

"Blood in, and blood out," Shadow growled, hatred all over her whiskered face.

Red Claw smirked at his work, and turned on yet another crewman. "An' Fray, who was suppose to be captain after Snarl?" Red Claw asked a wildcat with one eye covered with a patch.

Fray pushed back his torn ears and snarled, "Buck."

"That's right. Buck should have been leadin' us. Instead, he shirked his duties, an' left us to fend for ourselves," Red Claw preached louder. "We were relyin' on him, an' what did he do to his only family? Abandonment.!"

This caused an uproar that shook the ice all around them. They started to pound their paws on the floor and walls, taking out weapons and waving them as they shouted for blood.

"What does Buck deserve, after all he's done to us?" Red Claw finally shouted over the yelling.

One word reverberated throughout the ship from all mouths.

"DEATH!"

Red Claw grinned devilishly as he got the response he wanted. With his crew by his side, Buck wouldn't escape him again.

* * *

><p>"Achoo!"<p>

"Are you okay?" Tundra asked, looking with concern at her weasel friend.

"Sure I am," Buck brushed off her question.

"It's just that you've been sneezing a lot," Tundra said. "You probably haven't had a winter coat for years."

Buck rounded on Tundra with snarl. "I said I'm fine," he growled at her, and walked away from her faster than before.

This made Tundra stop entirely, her eyes wide as she looked at Buck's stalking backside. And deep inside of her, she was starting to become afraid of her friend.

"Tundra!"

The reddish-brown mink jumped when Frost touched her shoulder.

"You alright?" Frost asked.

Tundra shook her head as if her body instinctively answered the question correctly, but her mouth lied. "Yes, I am. I just . . . thought I heard something. Come on." And before her cousin could say another word, Tundra was marching ahead just as fast as Buck.

Frost, gave her cousin a cold stare, but then her ears pricked forward. "Hey, I hear something too."

"No, it must have been my imagination," Tundra insisted, not wanting to talk more about the lie she just said.

"Then your imagination is calling your name," Frost said.

"Huh?"

The two females stopped so the crunching of the snow didn't drown out anything else. And immediately they heard Tundra's name on the cool, soft breeze. The two turned in circles, looking in all directions for the source of the voice.

"It sounds a bit like Aunty Clarissa," Frost commented.

Tundra stiffened, and told her cousin, "That's not funny, Frost."

"Well, we are by your house."

"Hey, mammal. There's a mink comin' our way callin' for ya," Buck called back, a considerable ways ahead of them.

Tundra gritted her teeth, nerves standing out across her skin like needles. _Please don't let it be mother. Please don't let it be mother._

"Tundra, darling. I've been looking all over for you."

"Mother," Tundra said once she spotted the mink. She ran over to her mother with a fake smile. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

"I just need to ask you a few questions before tonight's party. They're very important," Tundra's mother said, her face almost in a pout as if anticipating a scolding.

"I'm assumin' this is yer mother, mammal," Buck said gruffly, coming up from behind.

Tundra's mother turned around, and jumped back with a squeak at the sight of Buck.

Dreading every second of her life at this moment, Tundra prepared for anything. "Yes, this is my mother. Mother, this is Buck, who saved my life." Tundra added the last part for insurance, in case her mother was going to make a scene.

"I can see where Tundra gets her good looks," Buck said as he grabbed Tundra's mother's paw for a firm and vigorous shake.

Tundra's mother looked the weasel up and down before saying, "Flattery is unnecessary, Mr. Buck," she said in a stoic voice and pulled her paw away. "Now please excuse me, I have to talk to my daughter. But I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about at the party."

In a very rude way, Tundra's mother turned her back to Buck to address her daughter. "Now, dear, this is very important. What do you prefer, white roses or lilies?"

"Roses. Mother, can't this wait until later? We need to get Buck to . . ."

"No, it can't. I'm on a schedule," Tundra's mother snapped. "For dinner, what would you prefer? Salmon or trout?"

"Trout. This doesn't make sense. What is this for?" Tundra asked, feeling her temper shorten very quickly.

Tundra's mother smiled sweetly. "Why, it's for your wedding dear. Rocky has waited for you all this time to marry you."

Tundra stopped breathing while her heart sped up. Her muscles and nerves tightened, and she felt a twitch around her left eye. Yet, all she could do was look to Buck for a reaction. At the moment, he was unreadable. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and he didn't move or change his expression.

"I thought Rocky was marrying cousin Petunia," Frost argued, stepping in front of Tundra. "After all, everyone thought Tundra was dead."

"But once he found out you were alive and well, he just couldn't go through with that sham of a wedding," Tundra's mother said dramatically. "After all, he's very lucky to have a second chance with you."

"But I just got back," Tundra said quietly, keeping one eye on Buck.

"I know it's quick, but long engagements can get so messy," Tundra's mother rattled on. "I was hoping the two of you could pick up where you left off."

"But mother," Tundra hissed between teeth, "I ran away so I wouldn't have to get married."

"And now you're back," Tundra's mother said, touching her daughter's chin. "That should tell you that you are now ready to get married, now isn't it?"

"No, it isn't," Tundra said firmly. "Not to mention, I don't know one iota about Rocky."

"That's what being married is all about, finding out who the other person is," Tundra's mother said with a shrug. "That's half the fun."

"I'm not going to marry a complete stranger."

"You're getting married. . ."

Tundra was feeling her anger boil hotter and hotter, but Buck's words cooled them down quickly as she looked to him for a reaction. Still, there was nothing.

"Buck, you don't understand. I should have told you earlier."

". . .Yes, you should have," Buck said, his voice dark. But then his countenance lite up. "Now we really have cause to celebrate. You'll put us on the front row, right?"

Tundra's blood froze at Buck words. This wasn't the reaction she expected, and she didn't know how to react. She couldn't talk, she couldn't move. Something seemed to be stopping her from telling Buck and her mother that they were wrong. Her jaw wouldn't open up, and her voice was stilled by shock.

". . .no. . . .wait. . ." she managed to squeak among the noise coming from both Buck and her mother.

"Would you prefer the reception inside or out?"

"Way to go, mammal. You work fast. I'm impressed."

_ Why aren't they listening to me?_

_End of Chapter 9_

* * *

><p>Chapter and Author's notes:<p>

Usually, I would some cute dialogue here, but I got tired of people commenting on the silly play acting rather on the story that I spent a lot of time on.

First off, thank you everyone for the comments you gave me, especially the random person who occasionally chews me out for not updating when I totally deserve it. I didn't realize that it had been seven months since I put up a new chapter, so thank you random person for telling me. A lot has happened to me in the past seven months, so I have excuses, but most of them are very personal. To sum things up, I AM NOT DEAD. The random person who wrote to me before saying that some people have been thinking I'm dead. No, I'm very much alive.

The thing that prevented this chapter from being put up onto sooner was that it was very difficult for me to write. There were many things I don't like about the chapter and that I still don't like. The biggest thing was that this chapter concentrated a lot on Tundra and her family. I'm not happy how little Buck is in this chapter, but I hope putting in the entire herd made it up. I also wasn't happy about introducing too many new characters. I'm not a fan of when writers put in a lot of characters into their story, so it hurt me to put so many in this chapter. But I felt they were all necessary.

When I started this story, I didn't intend to do much with the pirates, but after thinking more and more of what I was doing, I felt that a few of the pirates (besides the captain and first mate) needed names and personalities. Gilda and Longtail were a last minute inspiration, but are necessary for the plot to continue on. All of them will play only small parts in the chapters to come. As for Dr. Honeybee, he is very necessary to what I want to do with Buck. I often feel that people don't go much into Buck's mind when they write fanfiction about him. There's a method to his madness after all.

As for Tundra's family, I've been trying to make things easy for the readers by address all the minks by their relation to Frost and Tundra. For the most part, Tundra's Mother is referred to as Tundra's Mother, and not by her name. After a while, I felt I couldn't write a few scenes the way I wanted unless I gave her a name. But even so, I still use Tundra's Mother to describe her, and Clarissa will only be used in dialogue to prevent confusion later on.

Because I have introduced so many new characters, I would like to post the last three chapters very quickly. Here are my goals:

Chapter 10 release date: Nov 1

Chapter 11 release date: Dec 1

Chapter 12 release date: Jan 1

Yes, I want to finish this story this year. And here's how you can help. You have my permission to heckle and harass me (with no profanity or threats please) if I haven't posted a week after my goal date. I hope you won't have to, but if you feel like yelling at someone, then it might as well be me. It's a great motivator.

I also have thought of a fun way of getting me to write. For every review I receive, I will write a page of the next chapter the day I read it.

If in your review you mention what your favorite part of my fanfic has been so far, I will write a second page of the next chapter the same day I read it.

I am also asking my readers to submit questions. The questions can either be directed to me, or to any character that is in my fanfic. Questions for the characters will be answered at the end of Chapter 10, but questions to me will be held until the end of the story. If you add a question to your review, I will write a third page of the next chapter the same day I read it.

So, you have a chance to make me write three pages a day (I'll only read one review a day). Make me write. I dare you.

The paragraphs after this is me ranting about Ice Age 4. If you don't care what I think of the movie, you can skip it, and I'll see you next chapter. If you want to know what I think of the movie, be very prepared.

Now, I would like to tell everyone of my opinion of the fourth movie, because I need to rant about it. But first off, I want to tell everyone that I didn't see it until this chapter was finished. I wrote the last few pages yesterday, and then went to see the movie (yes, I waited that long DX) and today I proof read the chapter. I was determined not to see it until the chapter was complete.

Anyway, about the fourth movie, I was sadly disappointed in it. I really wanted it to be good, and a part of me died when I was let down. It was still okay, but I expected more. I thought the plot wasn't very well thought out, I didn't like how many new characters were in it which took away screen time from my favorites, I thought there were too many cliche elements in it, and the characters that I love so much, weren't as funny as past films. The only thing that saved the film (in my opinion) was Granny.

My biggest issue of the film was how many new characters were in the film. I felt that the pirates took up way too much screen time, and they weren't all that funny or interesting in my opinion. Even the captain, while suppose to be charismatic and manipulative, just made me shake my head as I thought "Was this the best villian they could come up with?"

The only pirate that I cared for was Shira. I liked her personality and her character design. I was disappointed that they hinted to her past history, but there was no other explanation. I felt there was a lot they could have done with her, but they failed miserably. I also felt that there was no chemistry between her and Diego, although I wish they were. It felt like Diego was thinking to himself "She's the first female Sabor I've seen in years. I could do worse."

I wished they had done more with Sid's family. It was funny what they did, but if felt kind of useless to bring in three characters for that purpose.

As for Peaches, I liked her teenage design, but the whole subplot of her wanting to impress a boy and dissing her friend in the process was very cliche, and horribly done. I hate that plot, and I wish it would just die. And because of that stupid subplot, I felt that character interaction between Peaches and her family was sadly low. I wanted to see interaction between her and Sid, Diego, Crash and Eddie. It's the uncles that make it fun!

There wasn't enough Crash and Eddie, and what I saw, it felt like their personalities were put on the back burner and slowly boiled away. It was like the writers wrote the story and then said, "Oh, wait. Doesn't Ellie have opossum brothers? Yeah, she does. Let's throw them in, just so the fans don't complain." Well, guess what writers. I'm on to you.

That brings me to Lewis. I didn't mind him, but I felt like his personality was washed away with everything going on. Again, if there were fewer new characters, they could have actually made Lewis a good character. One thing I didn't like about him was that he obviously has a crush on Peaches, yet another teenage cliche. Why Fox? Why did you do this to me?

One more thing, those tiny little rodents that did the whole Braveheart spoof, they were freakin' cute. So cubby XD.

Okay, I'm done. Now review!


	10. Chapter 10: I'm Not Crazy (I Hope)

__Author's note: I'm sorry to prevent you from immediately reading this next chapter, especially since I am over a month off from my goal, but I have a few things to say. I appreciate those who have sent me reviews and have been very patient with me. You are readers of gold. You are one of my reasons for continuing to write.

But there is something that I found not acceptable among my reviews. In the past chapter, I mentioned I wanted to get this chapter up by Nov. 11 and it was my goal. A few people called me a liar, and I receive a particularly bad review because of this. I would like to remind you that a goal is not a PROMISE. I promised nothing to my audience, but mainly shared with them my own hopes for this fanfic. And I found it highly rude to be given a bad review that wasn't constructive criticism. I felt that it was left merely to make me feel bad. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to submit this chapter when I wanted to, but I have other things that need to be done. I have priorities and responsibilities that need to be done. Sometime, I only have a few minutes to get onto the computer and write a little bit. I'm sorry I was late, but I'm not going to put off spending time with my family or quit my job just to work on something that, in the long run, doesn't matter.

I would like to tell my fellow readers the sacrifice writers of fanfiction make to write their stories. For me, I feel I'm a creative writer, and a good one. But writing doesn't come easy for me. When I'm writing stories, I average a page per hour. Most of my chapters are around 20 to 30 pages. That means I have spent hundreds of hours on this fanfic. Image what you can do with all that extra time. Fanfic writers sacrifice their free time to write their stories, and for what? They don't get paid. They do it because its fun, and because it makes people happy. They also do it so they can become better writers.

I am not looking for an apology or sympathy. I was depressed about this for about a week, but I'm over it. But I know there are other authors out there who are harassed far more than I. I would like everyone to remember what I've said when reading other people's work. And please know that reviews like, "I love your fanfic. Update please or I'll die," tell us that you like our stories, but we'd like to know why. Please think about what you want to write in the review. When I'm feeling depressed about a story or have writers block, I re-read all my reviews and I get pumped about the story.

Thank you for your time.

-End Author's notes.

_All day staring at the ceiling  
>Making friends with shadows on my wall<br>All night hearing voices telling me that  
>I should get some sleep<br>Because tomorrow might be good  
>For something<br>Hold on feeling like I'm heading for a  
>Break down and I dunno why<em>

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little unwell<br>I know right now you can't tell  
>But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see<br>A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little impaired<br>I know right now you don't care  
>But soon enough you're gonna think of me<br>And how I used to be _

_Talking to myself in public  
>And dodging glances on the train<br>And I know I know that they've all been talking about me  
>I can hear their whisper<br>And it makes me feel that there must be something wrong with me  
>After all the hours thinking somehow I've lost my mind<em>

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little unwell<br>I know right now you can't tell  
>But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see<br>A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little impaired<br>I know right now you don't care  
>But soon enough you're gonna think of me<br>And how I used to be_

_I've been talking in my sleep  
>Soon they'll come to get me<br>And they're taking me away_

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little unwell<br>I know right now you can't tell  
>But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see<br>A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy  
>I'm just a little impaired I know<br>Right now you don't care  
>But soon enough you're gonna think of me<br>And how I used to be  
>And how I used to be<br>How I used to be  
>I'm just a little lonely<br>How I used to be  
>How I used to be<br>I'm just a little unwell  
><em>

_-By Matchbox 20_

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 10: I'm Not Crazy (I Hope)

By Emilou AKA Hatashi Kitty

The cold was seeping into her personality, and she could feel herself mentally curling into a ball. Things were falling apart, and she wanted to be far, far away from everything. Loneliness looked like paradise to the current situation.

"Aunty Clarissa, why don't you make all the decisions for the party?" Frost pushed her way into the fray, seeing that Tundra wasn't reacting to anyone's words. "You're good at planning useless things."

The older mink glared at her niece's impudence. "This isn't for tonight's party, but the wedding. If we're to get everything ready for tomorrow, than I need to know if she wants to get married in the open or the forest."

"Tomorrow!" Frost shouted, making everyone jump. "Are you insane? What kind of mother are you?"

Tundra's mother looked indignant. "You may be my sister's offspring, but I won't let you speak that way to me, Frost. I'll tell you what kind of mother I am. I am a mother who has done everything she could to make sure her daughter has had a safe and protected life. And now, I am a mother who is trying to ensure that her daughter doesn't want for anything, and is settled close to home. I lost my daughter once, and I'm going to make sure the ground stays firmly under her feet so it doesn't happen again."

Frost was struck to silence at her aunt's vehemence and passion, and looked away as she thought of the shame that she didn't tell her aunt that Tundra was alive all that time. Perhaps it was the stress of Tundra's disappearance that made her aunt go crazy.

Then again, Aunty Clarissa has always been a little eccentric.

"Mother," Tundra whispered after she heard her mother's speech. Never had she heard her mother speak so. It was the most love she had felt from her mother in a long time. It was too bad that her heart was in the wrong place. "Mother, I'm not going anywhere," she said softly, reassuring her mother.

Tundra's mother took Tundra's paw and patted it with a warm smile. "I know, dear. I know. Now, would like to be married at sunrise or sunset?"

Tundra's face twisted into an ugly expression; she brushed her mother's paw away and stomped away in anger.

As Frost escaped by following her cousin, Buck leaned in to the older mink and whispered, "Have the weddin' at sunrise. Trust me." With that, he tucked an unusual pineapple under his arm and loped off after the girls.

Tundra's mother raised an eyebrow at the retreating backside of the weasel, her thoughts disguised by a chilly countenance. After a while, she said to herself, "A wedding at sunset it is."

* * *

><p>Tundra kept her back to Frost and Buck, walking as fast as she could so they couldn't catch up with her. She knew Frost already knew why she was upset, and she didn't want to talk at this time. And she definitely didn't want to look back to see if her mother was following her.<p>

But most of all, she didn't want to hear anymore of how happy Buck was that she was getting married. Just remembering his happy countenance made her eye twitch.

_No, I refuse to go insane,_ she thought to herself as she slapped a paw over her eye. But despite what she believed, she had a suspicion that it would do no good. If she had to live with such stress for the rest of her life, she might eventually go crazy. And not like Buck-crazy.

It was the sight of Dr. Honeybee's burrow that caused her muscles to relax, and her body to stop being on alert. The remembrance of being in his soothing presence already made her feel better. She wondered if maybe it should be her and not Buck to go see him.

"Watch out, Angel-girl," Buck shouted, suddenly in front of her, and pushing her behind him. He had unsheathed his tooth knife is defense "I smell badger. They're tricky buggers."

"I know, ya big goof, " Tundra said, pushing Buck's knife down where it couldn't do any harm. "Dr. Honeybee is a badger. He's an upstanding mammal, and I would appreciate it if you didn't try to carve him up."

Buck looked surprised, and then embarrassed. "Sorry, Angel-girl. I guess it was my ol' instincts kickin' in. I did it without even thinkin'."

Tundra smiled with him, when she realized that Buck called her by her nickname, not once, but twice. He seemed to be much more stable mentally at that moment, and the insane gleam wasn't in his eyes. He was back to normal, at least for the time.

"Hey, Bucky. You forgot something," Frost shouted from behind them. In her paw, she held out the hideous pineapple. Once she made eye-contact with the spotted weasel, she tossed the unattractive fruit into his awaiting paws.

"Now, that's not a nice thing to do with my one an' only," Buck said indignantly, brushing some snow off the rough skin. "You have ta be gentle with her."

"Kind of like leaving her in the snow while you go rescue someone else," Frost said in a sugary tone. "Makes me wonder about your reason to abandon your wife, hmmm?"

Tundra's heart thumped harder in her chest as she realized what Frost was saying. And she grew even more anxious as Buck's countenance went dark for just a second before he returned to grinning his insane grin.

"I was just tryin' ta protect all of ya. My wife knows that, don't you honey?" Buck asked the pineapple. "I might have been hasty since I saw this mammal had her guard down." Buck nudged Tundra hard, and then laughed as she had to catch herself before she fell from his playfulness.

"Uh-huh," Frost said, not all too convinced. She glared at the weasel as he turned around and headed for the badger's burrow.

Tundra rounded on her cousin with a frown.

"What?" Frost defended herself.

"Buck was acting like normal, and then you brought back that pineapple," Tundra growled. "He was even calling me Angel-girl again."

Frost sighed in frustration. "What do you want me to do? You won't let me whack the pineapple, yet you get after me for this. Make up your mind."

The two cousins followed after Buck with twin scowls.

Buck waited until the two female minks had caught up before knocking against the burrow's side.

There were some sounds of grumbling, and then a twitchy nose appeared at the hole's entrance.

"Ah, it's you Miss Tundra. And you brought your friend. Please come in. Come in," Dr. Honeybee said in a rumble-like voice. It took the badger a while to turn around, and lead them into his home. Instead of taking them the same way he took Tundra, he led them into a different tunnel that opened into a low-ceiling, but wide area.

Ever since they had entered the tunnel, Buck had bent himself as if the ceiling was much lower than it really was. He kept glancing up at the dirt above his head as if it were going to cave in on him.

Dr. Honeybee turned to Tundra and Frost. "Oh, I'm sorry you two. I'm going to have to ask you and your friend to leave, Miss Tundra. The sessions are confidential, and are only between the married couple."

"But I. . ." Tundra tried to say, but Frost nudged her hard.

"That's fine. We should really go help your mother with the party," Frost said, and pulled Tundra away.

"But, I was hoping to talk to you about something," Tundra said ambiguously to Dr. Honeybee.

The badger smiled kindly. "Trust me, Miss Tundra," he told her softly. "Your friend is in good paws."

Still thinking she should tell him what had happened outside of the burrow, she blurted out, "Perhaps you could come to the party this evening. I would be happy to invite you, since you are helping out Buck."

"A party?" Dr. Honeybee repeated skeptically. "Are you sure?"

With more determination, Tundra went on. "It's a party we're having in Buck's honor."

"Yeah, come on over, Doc," Buck added, his voice strained. "You can't stay cooped up in this. . . hole."

"Yes, Mr. Buck, you are right," Mr. Honeybee admitted. "It is good for the body and soul to leave one's home and socialize. Perhaps I will drop by for a while, since you insist. Thank you."

Tundra and Frost left with a few good-byes as they moved back to the surface.

"I wished I could have told him about earlier," Tundra muttered, looking back as they moved further from the burrow. "I'm sure it would have helped."

Frost sighed heavily. "Just leave the weasel to the doc. Dr. Honeybee's a professional. He probably knows more than we do."

"It's just that I think I'm understanding why Buck is acting strangely, but I'm not connecting the last dots," Tundra said, sounding depressed. "But, it might just be because of me that Buck is acting funny, and Dr. Honeybee will see that." When she said that, her body drooped even more.

Frost felt her fur stand on end from anger. "You know what, you are right. At least, you're one of the reason Buck is acting strangely," she half-shouted at her cousin.

"What?" Tundra gasped with a look of dread.

"Yeah, you got it in one. So, you should stop thinking about Buck's actions, and look at yourself," Frost growled, paws on hips. "He's not the only one being strange. You changed too. And I'm not talking about when you fell down that hole. Ever since we came home, you've been acting like your old self. And I know you better than that ratty ol' weasel ever could, and I know that this isn't you. That adventurous mink that saved me is the real you.

"So, perhaps before you start trying to change Buck, perhaps you should think about how your change of actions is affecting him."

Tundra wanted to argue against her cousin's reasoning, but she could find nothing wrong with Frost's words. It was true that she was acting different than usual, but she never noticed. It was like she dropped back into her old role, that her body remembered its old place, and slipped into it without noticing.

"It looks like you have a lot to think about, Tundra," Frost said, her voice stern. "When you figure things out, come and get me."

"Where are you going?" Tundra asked. "We're suppose to help my mother with the party."

"Nuts to that," Frost shouted as she tromped away. "I'm staying far away from your mother until the party."

Tundra folded her arms and pouted, remembering the lecture her cousin gave her. She knew Frost was right, but she had no idea how to break out of the mold she was in. It was very natural to act as she did around her family. It was a puzzle that she was reluctant to solve herself. She wanted an easy way out. She wanted someone to fix it all.

She just wanted to run away.

Again.

But that wasn't a solution. At least not one that would make her happy.

* * *

><p>Since the two minks left, the weasel had been pacing in one single line. The pineapple that was in his arms had been discarded on the floor during his nervous fit.<p>

"Mr. Buck, are you claustrophobic?"

Buck stopped in his tracks, and his nervousness washed away. "Now doc, there's no need for name callin'."

Dr. Honeybee chuckled. "No, I meant are you . . . uh. . . would you prefer to go someplace more spacious?" Dr. Honeybee guessed that his patient wouldn't like being accused of any kind of fear, and went with an indirect approach.

Buck looked up at the ceiling, his nervousness returning. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"This way," Dr. Honeybee directed with digging claws. "My therapy room is much more roomy than the waiting room."

Buck was about to lead the way, when the badger cleared his throat.

"Have you forgotten someone?"

Buck looked into the badger's face. The badger nodded in the direction of the pineapple, and Buck blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry about that, sweetheart. Here, let me help you in." Buck went over to grab the pineapple before rushing into the therapy room.

Dr. Honeybee noticed that with a higher ceiling, Buck seemed to relax a bit more. The badger made a mental note of that before clambering in. "I apologize for my burrow. Many find it uneasy to have such low ceilings. It's just easier for badgers to dig sideways rather than up and down."

"Say no more, doc," Buck said, a paw held up in a stop motion. "It's unnervin' fer me bein' underground."

"How odd. Normally weasels are burrowers too," Dr. Honeybee mulled over.

"My family hasn't lived underground for generations," Buck commented, sounding a bit prideful about that.

"Interesting. How did your family live? Please tell me your childhood home," Dr. Honeybee prodded.

Buck's eyebrows knit together. "That's not something I talk about," he growled in a warning voice.

Not at all feeling threatened by Buck's gruff nature, the badger nodded. "I'm very sorry. My training was kicking in. That is not why you have come, is it?"

Dr. Honeybee and Buck went further into the room, and both of them noticed a chubby beaver sitting on a small mound of dirt by other mounds.

"Oh, how rude of me. Mr. Buck, this is my assistant," Dr. Honeybee said softly. "This is Dr. Yew. Recently, my work load has been a little too much for me to handle, and Dr. Yew has been gracious enough to take a few cases on. I also like to have him sit in on the first session, if that's alright with you Mr. Buck."

"Yeah, that'll be fine. An' you can just call me Buck," the weasel said to the beaver.

"How do you do?" Dr. Yew said softly, and shook paws with the weasel.

"And this is his wife, Mrs. Buck," Dr. Honeybee said, gesturing to the pineapple. "I've already briefed you on the situation, so please behave." This last bit was in a whisper to Dr. Yew.

However, the warning was lost on the beaver. When Dr. Honeybee disclosed Buck's strange behavior to Yew, the beaver thought that Buck was the biggest nutcase on the planet. However, in that office, once his eyes caught on the pineapple after the introductions were made, Dr. Yew was entranced.

"She's beautiful," he said in a dreamy voice, eyes locked onto the tropical fruit.

Both Buck and Dr. Honeybee slowly moved their heads toward Dr. Yew. After a while, the badger had to elbow his assistant since Buck was looking rather protective of his wife.

"I mean, you are a very lucky mammal, Mr. Buck. How long have you been married?" Dr. Yew asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"Almost a year now," Buck said proudly. "Our anniversary is coming up."

"Well, congratulations," Dr. Honeybee said lightly while eying his assistant. "Perhaps that is where we should start today's session. Please, have a seat."

Everyone settled down on the mounds of dirt, except for Dr. Honeybee, who was too big, even in the larger room. Dr. Yew sat directly across from where the pineapple was set, but stayed very silent as the badger began.

"Now, Buck, perchance we can first talk about what sort of disagreements you and your pi. . .er. . .wife have had in the past," Dr. Honeybee said, quickly covering up the faux pas he started to make.

Buck, his front paws were clasped together and his elbows were on his knees. From that position, he started out. "Well, at first, we didn't fight about anythin'. An' then, a few months ago, she just starts naggin' me about Rudy. . .Oh, there you see. As soon as he's mentioned, her attitude changes completely."

"Mmm hmm, I see. And who is this Rudy character?" Dr. Honeybee asked.

Buck opened his jaws as if he were going to say something, but shut them to glare at the pineapple. "Oh, now you want to talk about Rudy. Okay, fine. You can be the one to explain." Buck then folded his front paws, and slouched in his seat.

There was an awkward silence for Dr. Honeybee, as he seemed to be the only one who was unable to hear the fruit. He made a mental note that Dr. Yew was doing exceptionally well with humoring Buck, as the beaver was nodding sympathetically at the pineapple. Almost too well.

Dr. Honeybee had anticipated from the moment Tundra had spoken with him the day before that there might be situations such as the one he was in. After much thought, he had imagined a few strategies that might help with the silent party in the conversation.

"I've heard enough," Dr. Honeybee said calmly while holding up a paw. "We've heard what you think of this Rudy, but I think I need to hear it from you Buck."

Without missing a beat, Buck jumped into his thrilling tale of how he first met Rudy and how he lost his eye. His audience became wide eyed as he acted it out, and retold every gory detail.

"So, Rudy is a dinosaur?" Dr. Yew asked, his eyes very wide at this. "I've heard the rumors, but I didn't think they were true."

Dr. Honeybee gave the beaver a discrete glare to tell him that he wasn't suppose to speak during the session, but said nothing. He wasn't surprised by Buck's story since Tundra had briefed him on where Buck lived, but he knew nothing of Rudy. However, from what he gleaned from the story, the badger was able to tell what was wrong with the relationship. That is, if Buck was in a normal and realistic relationship with a sentient being.

"That was an. . .enlightening story, but you failed to tell what you _think _of Rudy," Dr. Honeybee guided with his voice. "What do you think of him?"

Buck sat back down much more pacified and with a puzzled look on his face. "Well, I don't know."  
>"You don't know how you feel about a carnivorous animal?" Dr. Honeybee delved further. "I would be frightened to death if I met this Rudy. Or angry. But you don't seem to feel either, do you?"<p>

Buck shrugged. "No. . .I feel. . .," he trailed off. Then a smile crept on his face, and his fist bunched up.

"Excited? Happy?"

Buck looked at the burrow's wall with a stoic look on his face.

"Well, perhaps we should move on. Is there any other. . .issues you'd like to bring up?" Dr. Honeybee asked. "In the first session, I'd like everything to be taken off everyone's chest, and then we can work on each individual problem at a time."

Buck looked at his wife, and then rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd bring her up. I mean, Rudy is one thing, but Tundra . . . why don't you like any of my friends?"

The badger's ears pricked up at the mention of Tundra. This was one of the things he was waiting for. When the mink first came to him, he was sure that she was at the center of the unrest in Buck's life.

"Perhaps we should go further with. . . ," Dr. Honeybee try to say, but was interrupted.

"I have every right spend time with Tundra. Most of the time, she's helpin' me find food, fight off dinosaurs, and gettin' you everythin' you want," Buck half-shouted at the pineapple. "An' what do you do? Just sit around all day with Fernando the Pool Boy."

Dr. Honeybee realized that Buck was leading the session onto a topic that the badger was sure wouldn't help anybody. He had a deep-set feeling that once Buck really talked about the mink, then progress would be made. But it seemed that Buck was keeping away from that one thing.

"Yeah, I'd love to see you switch places with me," Buck said angrily, his fur standing up. "Do you even realize how hard it is for me? To wander around an' around, not being able to talk to anyone? No conversation? No one to lean against? Is that what you want from me?"

_He was lonely. That is why he created a wife, so that he'd have someone to talk to. But even that didn't fill up his emotional needs. A pineapple couldn't replace flesh and blood._

"Good. Keep going with that," Dr. Honeybee encouraged softly, hoping that he didn't distract Buck from releasing his feelings.

"Did I do somethin' wrong? Is there a reason you want to leave me?" Buck asked the pineapple, and then a look of panic came across his face. "You're not going to leave me, are you?" The weasel went down on his needs in a pleading position in front of his wife. "If you are gone, I'll be alone again. Please don't leave me alone."

Both the badger and the beaver looked interested in what Buck was saying, but for utterly different reasons.

Buck wrapped his arms around the pineapple, shaking slightly as if the fruit were a lifeline to save him.

"How long has it been since the last time you were above ground?" Dr. Honeybee asked carefully, trying to make eye-contact with his patient.

Buck returned to his seat, but this time had the pineapple in his lap. "I donno. Three. . .four years. Maybe longer. I lost count. It drove me crazy trying to keep track of the days."

_That long isolated from the rest of the world?_ Dr. Honeybee thought with surprise. _It's no wonder he personified the pineapple into a real person._

"Doc, please help us. I want everythin' to be right between us before we go home," Buck requested with a face full of sincerity.

After a few seconds of feeling shocked, Dr. Honeybee replied uneasily. "You mean you intend to return down there? But you were able to escape from. . ."

"Naw, I could have left anytime," Buck said with a grin. "I couldn't leave it. Rudy would miss me."

_He uses Rudy to express some of his own feelings rather than admit to some things. Interesting. Now, if only I can find out why he didn't escape from that land when he was still sane enough to do so._

"What can we do to fix this?" Buck asked.

The badger chuckled on the inside at this question. This was probably the most asked question he'd heard in his sessions. And never once had he directly answered it. The most important of all rules for therapist is that you _never_ give advice. Not only can the advice backfire, and the therapist is to blame, but advice from a third party doesn't have as much effect as when the patient comes up with the answer on their one. A therapist's job is to ask questions that will lead to the patient to answer their own questions.

In normal circumstances, Dr. Honeybee would have asked Buck, "What do you think you can do to fix it?" in more or less words. However, nothing about this session was normal, and the badger's goal wasn't to fix Buck's fabricated marriage. So, he went a different route.

"You mentioned before that the problems in your marriage arose a few months ago," Dr. Honeybee asked. "Can you think of some sort of event that happened around that time?"

Buck sat still in thought, his face serene as he pondered the question. Then his face lit up as an answer came to him. "Yes, there is."

"Ah," Dr. Honeybee said with a smile. _At last. Real progress._

"It was Fernando!" Buck exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the pineapple. He jumped up from his seat, but the pineapple stayed on the dirt mound. "She's the one with the problem. It's all her fault."

Dr. Yew stood up with a look of indignation. "I say!"

"I agree," Dr. Honeybee added before the beaver could say anymore. "I have a strict 'no finger pointing' policy in my office."

Like sending a child into a corner for quiet time, Dr. Honeybee directed Buck back into his seat with pacifying words, and made him apologize to his wife before they continued. The badger was surprised by the weasel's actions since only a few minutes ago, Buck was begging his wife not to leave him. It was very juvenile. But in Buck's defense, most of his sessions went in this direction, Dr. Honeybee reminded himself. And it was always a bad sign that it would be a long session.

* * *

><p>Tundra didn't go home as she thought she would. Instead, she wandered around in the snow until her body couldn't take the cold anymore. While she walked, she thought about everything that Frost had said to her, and realized her cousin was right. Unconsciously she had been treating Buck different these past few days. However, she couldn't determine what came first, her strange behavior or Buck's. Not that it mattered since it didn't fix anything to know who started it. And she was sure she couldn't share this revelation with Buck since the weasel would more than likely refuse to believe that he was acting strangely. Or he would argue that he always acted strangely.<p>

Tundra sighed. Now it was only a matter of returning to how she was with Buck, her true self. The only problem was that it was easier to be her old self, especially with her weasel friend being how he was now.

After a while, the reddish-brown mink changed direction toward her cousin's domicile. It was nearly time for the party. And besides, Tundra felt that she owed Frost an apology.

It took more time than Tundra thought to trek to Frost's hollowed out tree. She had wandered further than she thought, and in a part of the forest that wasn't familiar. But once she had retraced her steps, she looked forward to seeing her cousin. Tundra wanted to release this burden that lay on her chest, and to feel friendship once more. That was one thing that she lacked growing up, and treasured it very much now. Which was why it hurt so much when Buck stopped treating her in a familiar way?

"Frost?" Tundra called out, softly padding into Frost's home. "Hey, are you here?"

Once more, Tundra wasn't welcomed immediately in Frost's home. After a while, she remembered that last time she came for a visit, her cousin was in a back room and doing something secret. The mischievous part of her mink make-up overcame Tundra, and she stalked into the tree hollow like a wolf to its prey. Just as she thought, she found Frost in a back room with her back to the entrance. Her cousin was busy with some dried bark, and was cackling over her work like some devious witch.

Completely forgetting that the whole purpose of her visit was to apologize to Frost, Tundra swooped down upon her cousin's project.

"Whoa, what's this?" Tundra cried out as she spied writing on the dried bark. "Is this your secret diary?" Normally, Tundra wouldn't do something so mean as to pry into another's personal life, but this was Frost. The thought of Frost taking the time to write in a diary was hilarious.

Not to mention, back when they were just little minklings, Frost had done the same to her.

"Give that back!" Frost shouted, reaching for the bark. To her frustration, Tundra was now agile enough to play keep-away very well.

"Oh, this must be something good," Tundra teased as she tried to read the bark. "It looks like a story. Are you writing novels now?"

"Don't read it!" Frost ordered, trying to uproot her cousin with her own body.

"'"My love. My darling. Come run away from here with me. I will take you someplace your family can't find you".' Really? A romance? From you?" Tundra continued to tease, surprised at the content of the bark.

"Stop it!" Frost shouted, acting a little sheepish and embarrassed.

Tundra gave her cousin a foxish look before continuing on. "'"I will go anywhere you want me to go," she said as she rested a paw on his heaving chest.' Great stuff." All this time, Tundra was smiling, thinking that this would be great blackmail material for the future. But that smile disappeared as she read the next line. "'She ran her fingers through his brown fur, and nuzzled his eye patch. "Oh Buck? You're SO STUDLY".' YOU WROTE A ROMANCE ABOUT ME AND BUCK!"

Frost had never heard Tundra raise her voice to such a volume, which only made her smile even more broader. Frost knew she couldn't hide anything from her cousin for long, and didn't really care about anything to be embarrassed for real over anything. Before, when she told Tundra to stop, what she really meant was, "Yes, go ahead and read my masterpiece."

"Yes, I did," Frost said proudly, her grin widening even more.

"How much did you write?" Tundra asked, looking at the piles and piles of bark picking up more and more to glance over the contents.

"Lots. I felt inspired," Frost said contentedly.

"What is wrong with you? You don't write stories about people that aren't true!" Tundra berated as she read more and more. "What? You have me and Buck collaborate in killing his wife! Are you sick?"

"Oh, come on. I know you want to," Frost tempted in a silky voice. "Just one little push off a cliff, and then he's single again."

"Okay, Frost. This has got to stop. Really," Tundra demanded. Then she picked up one piece of bark and read through the contents. It took her a while to realize what she was reading, and her cheeks grew much more red than what was natural. "What is. . .oh. FROST!"

"What?"

"You're going to burn this piece, and anything else like it."

"Oh, but those are the best parts."

"NOW!"

Frost laughed, and gave her cousin an amused look. "We both know I'm not going to do it. But it is good to have you back."

As irked as she was, Tundra pacified slightly at the reminder as to why she was there. "I'm sorry for this morning."

"Only for this morning?" Frost asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes! And only that," Tundra said sternly. "You were right. I am acting differently." Tundra's demeanor changed, and she grew quieter. "But I don't know how to stop. It felt so right to be who I am around Buck. It was like it was the real me and the real Buck. But something changed, and its so hard to be me around him now. And around mom. And around anyone else."

"Of course. You're too impressionable," Frost said with a shrug. "Tundra, all your life you've been surrounded by strong willed mammals. You've always picked the road mostly traveled, which allowed you to be bullied into things you didn't want to do. Even by me."

Tundra gave her cousin a half-smile which told that she knew the statement was true, and that she didn't hold any ill-will because of it.

"If that's the case, then was the mink around Buck the real me, or was I just taking the easiest road?" Tundra asked, her eyes full of pain.

Frost took her cousin's paw in hers. "I'm afraid I can't help you with that. The only one who can answer that is you."

"Wow. . .Frost, that was really. . .cheezy. Kind of like your novel," Tundra said with a sly grin.

"Fine, figure it out on your own," Frost told her cousin with a matching grin. "But we'll see who's cheezy when my novel is a bestseller."

"What? No, you're not showing this to anyone. Naw-uh," Tundra said while shaking a finger at Frost.

"I'll change the names. I promise."

Tundra sighed. "Come on. We have a party to go to."

Frost shrugged and stood up. "Are you taking that so you can read it later?" she asked once she spied that her cousin still had a piece of bark in her paws.

Tundra looked down, and realized she was still holding the part that made her blush. She gave a squeal, and threw it against the tree's wall. "You need some serious therapy, Frost."

* * *

><p>Dr. Honeybee was slightly disappointed that the rest of the therapy session didn't progress any more, but he was a realist. Sometimes, a single session did little good. A patient only advanced after multiple visits, so he wasn't entirely surprised. Not to mention, Dr. Honeybee was treating him for something else. But Dr. Honeybee was quite certain that informing Buck of his delusions would drive him away. Buck is a very stubborn weasel, and cannot be force to see reality.<p>

After the session, Dr. Honeybee informed Buck of when he wanted to see him again.

"But this next session is going to be different," Dr. Honeybee said in his kind voice. "I would like to see you and your wife separately. Even though you two are very close, married mammals still like to keep secrets from one another. The stress of keeping such secrets might be a reason for so much tension."

"I understand, doc," Buck said congenially, his wife tucked under his arm.

"So, I'd like to see you tomorrow."

"Could it be in the mornin'? I have a weddin' to go to," Buck said in a relaxed way.

"Yes, the morning it is," Dr. Honeybee said as he wrote it down in his schedule.

It was also at this time that Buck reminded Dr. Honeybee of the party at Tundra's. The badger nodded with a slight smile. He told Buck that he had a few things to do before leaving his office, and asked Buck to wait in the other room so they could travel together. Buck reluctantly agreed, not liking the idea of sitting in the smaller room for even a little while.

Once the weasel was gone, Dr. Honeybee spoke to his assistant for a moment, especially concerning professionalism and what was appropriate for the situation. Dr. Yew bowed his head through all of this, knowing he was being lectured, even if the badger was awfully polite about it. After that, Dr. Yew cleaned up while Dr. Honeybee wrote up his notes from Buck's session.

_In my patient, I have seen a charming personality and a mammal who is full of life and energy. But his potential has been tempered by his delusions that seem to been formed from his forced isolation. The patient has stated that he voluntarily stayed in isolation because he liked it, but I am inclined to believe that he thought he had no choice in the matter due to his unwillingness to talk about his life before isolation. The patient has a twisted sense of reality which is shown in his creation of a personality for a rather unaesthetic looking pineapple which he adopted as his significant other._

_ This patient is also magnetically drawn to danger, an adrenaline junkie, to coin the phrase. This, combined with his psychosis, has made him unpredictable and paranoid. I have seen no sign that he is a danger to anyone. As far as I can tell, any thrill seeking on his part doesn't include any bystanders. He comes off as one who knows what he is doing, and is quite knowledgeable in surviving in any situation. But it is of my opinion that if he continues down this path, eventually he'll be so cut off from reality that his actions will become so reckless as to be called suicidal, and might be his downfall._

_ My two biggest obstacles in helping Buck are as follows: One, Buck is intent on returning to his isolation after his "vacation", and I am certain that it might not be a long one. Every time I talk about staying above ground, he grows nervous. I'm afraid that he finds his isolated prison a paradise, and no longer feels comfortable with other mammals. Two, Buck is blocking his own path, and I can't get him to step aside. He has been turning all my efforts to get him to talk about what has been bothering him. And it is my opinion that it starts and ends with the mink, Tundra._

_ Buck is the type that cannot adjust to permanent changes, and sometimes rebels against them. Temporary changes just roll off his back, but he likes things to stay as they are. I'm sure that the appearance of Tundra is what upset his fabricated marriage. It was also her constant presence that initiated the supposed affair his wife had. Here he was, happily alone with his delusions, and a real flesh and blood mammal drops in his life. Since Buck, in his mind, was married and he started developing feelings for Tundra, he had to create a situation that would allow him to be free of the life he had created. But because Tundra was sympathetic to his problems and helped fix them, Buck found himself in the same situation and had to play by the rules he made._

_ Buck's "strange behavior" as Tundra put it, is stemmed from the permanent change of her leaving his world. After many years being alone, this was a devastating change, and one he couldn't cope with. To get by, Buck once more, created a situation that would allow him to be with Tundra. But at the same time, his mind was preparing for the change that was bound to happen, so he started distancing himself from her by treating her as if she were a temporary change. Also, his clinging attitude toward his fake wife is the only thing that is keeping him together. Breaking his delusions at this point would be fatal to his psyche, unless Tundra confesses. . . ._

At this point, Dr. Honeybee realized that he was far too emotionally involved in his patient and Tundra's relationship, which wasn't suppose to even exist as far as the two mammals are concerned. He threw the pieces of bark he used in the corner, and promised he'd look through them tomorrow and glean out the professional information. He then excused Dr. Yew for the day, and prepared to leave.

"Are you ready to go?" the badger asked as he stepped out of the therapy room.

"Ready and waitin'," Buck said eagerly.

The two walked out, going at the pace of the slower badger. As they walked, Dr. Honeybee observed Buck's reactions to everything. It seemed that every once in a while the weasel would take in a 360 degree survey of the area as if on watch. It affirmed Dr. Honeybee's suspicion that Buck was slightly paranoid.

For a while, the two walked in silence. Surprising both of them, it was Buck who broke the quiet.

"Tell me the truth, doc. Do we have a chance?"

Dr. Honeybee chuckled. "All my patients have a chance. It's just up to them. As much as I would like to take the credit, all the success in my sessions go to each individual patient. As long as you have a goal in sight and are willing to do anything for those you love, then there is always a chance."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Yes it does. And yet, it's so complicated for some."

Buck gave the badger a curious look.

"Well, many who jump into marriage do so without truly knowing their partner, and a few years down the road, they find that they aren't married to the same animal. Others don't realize that marriage is a sacrifice, and one they aren't willing to pay. Also, they find that a marriage doesn't just affect two animals, but many more. Many of my patients have found this out, and realized that in their own circumstances, it was better to let go."

"Let go?"

Dr. Honeybee realized that he had slipped. The way he was talking, it sounded as if he were encouraging Buck to lean in one direction. Not only was this something he shouldn't do, but he was suggesting divorce to an unstable, delusional weasel that could probably kill off the entire population without anyone knowing.

"I assure you, Mr. Buck, that every option is explored before that direction is even considered. You and your wife have shown signs of improvement, and I have good feelings for you," Dr. Honeybee back pedaled. He mentally told himself that it was unprofessional to reassure a patient like that (a therapist shouldn't make promises like that), but since he wasn't treating Buck as a marriage patient, he felt it was right.

And just as Dr. Honeybee hoped, that quelled Buck enough that he seemed content once more, save for the bouts of checking out the area. However, Dr. Honeybee wasn't done with Buck, and decided to sneak in one last word.

"There is one thing that has bothered me, but its most likely nothing," Dr. Honeybee said in a round-about manner, as if it weren't that important. The badger found that if he spoke this way, animals are more likely to listen to him. "By my calculations, you met Tundra not too soon before you started having marital trouble. I'm sorry if this is a sore subject, but I just wanted to check. For my records."

Buck took a moment to think, and then nodded. "Yeah, that's right. She fell from the ice sky, an' I took her home to stay with us. An' then we had our first fight a few weeks later."

"What a strange coincident," Dr. Honeybee mulled, and then shrugged his massive shoulders. "But I guess sometimes a tree is just a tree."

But Buck didn't hear. His eyes were locked onto the ground a few feet in front of him, and his mind was elsewhere. He was so quiet, that Dr. Honeybee was sure that his words had hit something.

It was unfortunate that the therapist had broken through one level of Buck at that moment, because if he didn't, then the weasel would have been free to continue his watch. And if Buck was watching, then he would have noticed a flock of birds circling over head. And if he noticed those birds, he would have seen that most of the birds were of different species, and shouldn't be flocking together. He would have also seen a majority of the birds head off in a different direction while three crows landed in the trees.

But he didn't see them, and now, what would be so suspicious as three crows hopping from branch to branch, pecking at bugs and seeds for food?

* * *

><p>As Frost and Tundra neared the mink burrow, they could hear conversation and laughter. Once in sight, they could see the party had begun and was in full swing.<p>

"Oh, I hope Buck hasn't arrived," Tundra said worriedly. She immediately quickened her step, and pushed into the group of minks. Every once in a while, she had to stop in her rush to talk to this relative or that friend of the family, and listen to how they were very glad she was alive and well. It took her so long until she finally arrived at the center where many logs had been set out for both sitting, and holding food for the party. It was there that she found her mother talking gracefully to a group of minks. Next to her was her father, listening politely and nodding when appropriate.

"Mother," Tundra interrupted politely. "Do you know if Buck has arrived?"

The elder mink smiled at the group before turning away. "No, I haven't seen your friend. Did he say he was coming?"

"Yes, I thought he would be here by now."

"What a shame. Tundra, darling, there are a few minks I think you should meet."

"What about two opossums? Have they come by?" Frost asked, looking around for Crash and Eddie.

"Opossums? I hope not," Tundra's mother said with a paw to her chest. "Why would you ask?"

"We invited them," Frost said with smug satisfaction as she saw her aunt's eyes widen in surprise.

"What? You'd invite _their _kind?"

"Mother, they're our friends. Besides, this party is for Buck," Tundra said, trying to sound as confident as Frost. "Why do I get the feeling that it isn't? You said that you were just inviting the family and a few neighbors."

"Yes, that's true."

"Mother. . ."

"Well, Rocky's practically family. So, I thought we'd make this into an engagement party for you two as well."

Tundra's shoulders sagged, and she felt knots all over inside of her. "Mother, don't you think that you're pushing this marriage a little too much. I just got back, and . . . I really don't think marriage is right for me at this time." For the first time, Tundra was able to blurt out what was on her mind, and was relieved. She had broken through, and, maybe now, she could express herself freely.

"You don't want to get married?" Tundra's mother asked softly.

"Well, yes, I do. But not right now. Things are a little . . . confusing for me, and I don't want to rush into anything," Tundra told her mother, her words a little jumble since she was nervous about speaking to her mother in such a manner. "And I don't really even know Rocky. How are we suppose to live and love each other? What if we can't?"

Tundra's mother gave her daughter a small smile. "I asked those same questions on my wedding day," she told Tundra tenderly. "And every bride have their doubts.

"I was raised in a large family, and it always broke my heart that I couldn't have any more children after you. Which is why I found you a husband from such a well-to-do family. Us minks have always organized arranged marriages, and that is tradition. Because I had only you, I wanted you to have the best husband, and have the best life. I wanted to make sure you'd be taken care of once you left home. And I feel that I have done my duty so far.

"I know you think that I'm rushing you, but I see that you're all grown up. This is the best way that I know to keep you safe and healthy. The world is a cold and cruel place, and minks have always dealt with it by being in large groups. I thought I lost you once, and I hoping that if you have someone else to be with, you won't leave again."

Tundra, since she was little, had been told of the tradition of arranged marriages. Before, she was excited and couldn't wait to get married. But things always change once you grew up. She, however, didn't understand her mother's motive to pushing her toward this marriage. And as she thought about what her mother said, part of it made sense. Any backbone Tundra had started to develop was now gone, and her resolve had dissolved.

"Now, is everything alright now. Hmmm?" Tundra's mother asked, using a finger to lift up her daughter's chin.

Tundra half-way smiled, and her mother took that as a possitive answer.

"Good. Now come this way. There are some minks you need to meet." And like a crack of lightning, her mother was pulling her toward a group of minks.

"Tundra, I'd like you to meet Rocky's mother and father. And three. . .no four of his sisters. I'm sure you'll want to talk quite a bit this afternoon. After all, you're almost family. Is Rocky here yet?"

The new minks shook their head.

"Well, when he arrives, send him our way," Tundra's mother said with a chortle. "I'd like to speak with my new son-in-law. And, of course, these two lovebirds should spend some time together. Now, there's one of his uncles. A delightful mink. Let me introduce you to him Tundra."

Tundra's mother pulled her daughter in a different direction as Tundra's heart flopped around in her chest at the suddenness of everything.

One after another, Tundra was shown more and more minks. She didn't say a word, but allowed her social butterfly mother speak as if she were already married to Rocky. It was all a blur of faces and names. After a while, Tundra could feel her head aching.

"I need a drink," Tundra excused herself, and made a dash away from her mother. She went to the nearest log that contained food and drink. The drinks were contained in hollow egg shells, nut shells and reeds. She picked up the nearest one, and gulped down the contents. Only after she finished the whole drink did she realized that it was fermented fruit juice. Normally she avoided the stuff, and her heart skipped when she realized what she drank. But after a while, she felt more relaxed and calm.

"Tundra! Tundra! Is Buck here yet?"

A group of young minks had ran up to her, and started shouted at her. Some of them she didn't recognize, but most were young cousins or nieces and nephews.

"I haven't seen him," she said with a small smile. "But he should be coming."

The minklings looked so disappointed that she took pity on them.

"How would you like if I told you another pirate story while we wait for him?"

Her young relatives readily agreed, but the others looked a little skeptical. They followed the female mink away from the adults (some grabbing food before doing so), and settled down in the snow.

"What are pirates?" an unknown mink asked, his finger wriggling around in his nose.

"They're horrible animals that ride on ships of ice, and travel all over the world to gather treasure," Tundra told him theatrically. Then she removed the mink's finger from his nostril. "And don't do that. You'll loose brain cells."

"What's treasure?" another mink asked in a soft voice. She kept stuffing food in her mouth as she spoke, so it took Tundra a while to realize what she had said.

"Treasure? You don't know what treasure is?" Tundra asked in disbelief. "It's food. Lots and lots of food. The best food you can think of. Large savory eggs, and big juicy fruit. The best you've ever tasted. Large piles of fish and roots. Frogs, too."

Her description caused a few in her audience to start salivating, and they rushed to the logs to get more food.

"Now, anymore questions?" Tundra asked, paws on hips.

Another mink raised her paw.

"Yes?"

"Why you so skinny? And red. Minks aren't red."

Tundra glared down at the little mink. Maybe it was the fermented fruit juice, or maybe she had just about had it with minks delving into her life. "And who are you? I haven't seen you before."

"You're gonna marry my uncle Rocky," the minkling said with a toothy smile.

Tundra looked at all the minks. "So, some of you are related to Rocky."

"Yes, Aunty Tundra," one mink said with a smile.

"Don't call me that. I'm not married just yet."

The little minks laughed, and continued to ask questions, both pirate and non-pirate related.

_Oh, this group is going to get a really, really short story,_ Tundra thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Soon after the formation of pirate birds spotted Buck, Gilda the raven landed on a branch to rest. She wasn't as young as she used to be, and gasped for air. The others didn't take her any notice, but the leader of the aviary group, a grizzled crow, gave her a few looks. Gilda ignored him, and started to preen.<p>

"This is your time, little one. Hide in some snow on the branches, and you'll be fine," Gilda whispered as she nuzzled her feathers with her beak. "I'll cover you up best I can."

Longtail, shivering from cold and fear, watched as the other birds circled once, and then dashed away when most weren't looking. He dove into the first patch of snow. It was wet from the sun melting it a bit, and soaked into his fur. But he bit down tight on his teeth to stop his chattering.

"I have to return. They won't let me stay to keep guard, so you're on your own," Gilda murmured.

"Thank you. And you take care," Longtail whispered back. He listened as Gilda took off, and waited at least an hour before looking out from his hiding place. There were no birds in sight.

With deft paws, he climbed down the tree as fast as he could. Light enough to run across the snow, the small mouse sniffed in circles around his tree. Eventually, he caught the scent of Buck and a badger.

Soon, Longtail was running at a moderate pace, one that would take him a while to burn out all his energy and stop to rest. By the look of Buck's paw prints, he wasn't going very fast, so the little mouse felt he had a chance to warn Buck.

If the crows didn't get him.

* * *

><p>Frost had abandoned Tundra when she realized Aunty Clarissa had confiscated her for the party. She loved Tundra, but not that much. Instead, she found the snack table and started into the spread. She was able to eat a while and drink enough to feel at ease when a commotion made her look up and take notice.<p>

"We have an invitation."

"Yeah, we're friends of the guest of honor."

"I don't believe. I've already had to throw you jokers out of one party. Don't make me do it again."

"What? No, those must have been different opossums."

"Yeah, we're totally legit."

Frost moseyed over to her broad-chested cousin that was acting as a bouncer. "Hey, it's alright Timber. They're with me," she said smoothly.

The larger mink gave her a raised eyebrow, but moved out of the opossum brothers way.

"Yeah, and don't let it happen again," Crash said with a snap of his fingers.

Eddie trembled with excitement. "I can't believe it. We're actually at a mink party."

"Hey, guys. Act cool," Frost warned them. "Even though you're with me, they'll still throw you out if you cause a ruckus."

"Don't worry, Frost. We're completely low key," Crash said with a wink. "Just show us to the food, and we're good."

"Funny, that's just what I was thinking as well," Frost said, and led the way with a sweeping gesture. "Just one question? How well do you hold your juice?"

* * *

><p>To Tundra's surprise, she continued telling the minklings stories for much longer than she intended. She had to admit, after she started the pirate tales, Rocky's younger relatives were lulled into a silent awe. They weren't so bad.<p>

But to the whines of the little minks, she stopped mid-story when the spotted weasel and badger. She didn't even say anything to her audience as she dashed away.

"Buck!" she called out as she stopped right in front of him. "I was worried you weren't coming."

"I apologize, Miss Tundra," Dr. Honeybee spoke first. "I'm afraid I don't move as quickly as some animals."

"Well, it's just great that you're here," Tundra said, feeling self-conscious. When Buck came into sight, her heart quickened at the thought that maybe Dr. Honeybee's therapy had helped Buck. Was he his ordinary self? What had happened? She was on the edge waiting for Buck to speak, and maybe reveal what she was hoping for.

But silence only reigned.

"Ah, I see your father, Miss. Tundra. I will go say hello," Dr. Honeybee said, and moved away.

And there was still silence. Tundra was worried that Buck was even further from his old self. She decided to break the quiet, but nothing came to mind. And then she remembered her audience.

"Uh, Buck, there's a few minks that want to meet you," she said, thinking how excited her cousins will be. She didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed his paw and pulled him along. "Hey, kids. Guess who's here? It's Buck."

And suddenly, the old Buck was back once the children gasped in hero-worshiping awe at the battle scarred weasel. A cacophony of questions flowed through the air, and Buck laughed and gruffly answered. At the sight of the tooth knife, when one minkling asked about it, made all their eyes huge. Buck swished it around, and did a few tricks with it. He threw it in the air, and caught it by the handle, then tossed it again and caught it in his teeth.

The little ones grew so noisy that a few mothers came by to tell them that they were too noisy, and it was time for them to go back inside and let the adults alone. A few of the minklings cried, but obeyed with loud goodbyes and waves to Buck. A few asked if he'll come back tomorrow, or if he would stay with their family forever.

Buck only chuckled at their devotion to him, and didn't promise them anything. He was still smiling when he turned to face Tundra.

Tundra blue eyes locked onto Buck's, and they starred at each other for a few moments. Her heart beat quickly, hoping that he would say something. But when his grin slowly faded, so did her expectations.

"So, how did it go with Dr. Honeybee?" she asked softly, her heart pleading for a positive answer.

Buck looked away, and shrugged. He sheathed his knife, and picked up the pineapple that he had discarded at the moment the minklings had accosted him.

"Buck, are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be, mammal?" Buck asked, a fake smile on his face. "Your family threw this party all for me. Well, let's get to partying."

"Yeah, I guess we should," Tundra said sadly, a desire for another drink rising inside of her. But she steadied that desire when she saw a pair of minks that were familiar. "Oh, Buck. I want you to meet my grandparents," she said, energy coming back into her body. She led Buck to the elderly mammals that were slowly moving through the crowds.

"Grammie, Pop-pop, I'd like you to meet my friend," Tundra said excitedly as she rushed to her grandparents. "This is Buck."

Tundra's paternal grandfather eyed Buck with a grizzled look, then spat to the side. "This is the weasel you told all those stories about?" he asked his granddaughter.

"Yes."

"Hmph," Pop-pop growled. "He looks too skinny and small. I doubt he could even climb a good sized tree."

"Pop-pop!" Tundra hissed a warning.

"And what's with the leaf over the eye. Trying to look like some punk?"

Tundra pinched the bridge of her nose to massage a head ache that was forming.

"AH!" Grammie broke in, clutching her head in one paw and her heart in another. She shook all over. "The horror!"

"Are you okay?" Buck asked, concern written all over his face.

"She's fine," Tundra and Pop-pop said in a dull voice.

"Just ignore her. She does it for the attention," Pop-pop grumbled.

Tundra elbowed Buck. "You're about to receive on of Grammie's famous fore-tellings. She predicts other animal's death."

Buck looked at the elderly female with an expression of respect.

"I see pain, oh, so much pain. Blackness and torment. Fear and agony all over. Darkness. Much darkness," Grammie weapt, clutching at Buck. "It will last for days and days, so much suffering that you wish for death. Then the end will come."

Tundra's eyes widened. This was much worse than Grammie's usual tellings. It almost made her shake with terror.

After a few more seconds of shaking with a look of fear, Grammie stood up calmly, and gave Buck a bright smile.

Pop-pop chuckled.

Buck's starred down at the elderly mink, and then started guffawing. "I like you, Grammie. Can I escort you somewhere?" he asked, and offered an arm to her.

"Oh, what a nice, young weasel you are," Grammie said while giggling like she was a maiden again. "I am slightly parched, if you will."

The two went off through the crowd at Grammie's pace, both chatting amiably like old friends.

"That boy's a survivor."

Tundra turned to her grandfather to see him smiling his grizzled smile at the weasel.

"Oh, don't worry about him. It'll be a long, long time before your Grammie's prediction comes true," Pop-pop said, looking very serious. "He kind of reminds me of me when I was young. Which is probably why my wife is fixated on him. Well, I better make sure she doesn't try anything with him."

Pop-pop gave Tundra a kiss on her cheek before ambling through the crowd.

Tundra smiled, thinking how nice it was that Buck was fitting in with part of her family. She only wished that this was. . . .

"He has a very magnetic personality, that one does."

"Whoa. . .Dr. Honeybee. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Tundra half-yelled as she turned to the badger. "Are you having a good time?"

"Yes, it is nice to get out once in a while. But I might depart sooner than expected," he said with a sad smile.

"Really? But you just arrived."

"I think its for the best," the badger said, and his lifted his snout to look around. "I'm afraid that a therapist at a party is a sore thumb. You're family seems to feel awkward around me."

_It's not because you're a therapist. It's because you're a badger, _Tundra thought, but knew better than to say it. In her opinion, it was a fatal flaw that a majority of minks disliked mingling outside of their species. But they weren't the only ones. It was an old fad that was slowly becoming out of fashion. Perhaps in a few generations, the minks will grow out of it. But for now. . .

"I'm sorry that my family is a bunch of snobs," Tundra apologized.

The badger held up a claw for her to say no more. "It is not my nature to judge. I don't make it a habit to tell others how to live."

Tundra was about to argue that that was his job, but the badger beat her to it.

"It's a therapist secret that we don't give out advice," Dr. Honeybee explained. "We only gently coach others to speak their minds or do what they long to do. We are the sympathetic ear."

"But how could you help Buck? He always speaks his mind and does what he wants. Are you saying you can't help him?"

Normally it would be a breach of ethics to discuss a patient with someone else, but Dr. Honeybee felt in his gut that Tundra and Buck were so closely connected that he considered her part of the therapy. Instead of treating Buck and his wife's relationship, he was helping the relationship of this mink and weasel. After all, the relationship of marriage isn't any different from any other. Friendships, and other family relationships need the same things as marriage: love, compromise, selflessness, devotion and sacrifice.

"I am very sure there is something that he isn't willing to talk about," Dr. Honeybee explained. "Mammals like Buck seem like they have no secrets, and that means there's something they're trying to hide. They do such a good job that its even hidden from themselves."

Tundra nodded. She remembered that there were times when Buck didn't want to talk about things, especially his past.

"Oh, that reminds me. There was something I wanted to tell you," Tundra remembered. "Before we arrived at your burrow, Buck became startled and started calling me by my nickname. It was like his old self was back."

Dr. Honeybee nodded. "It seems that his stronger emotions will do that. Fear, anger, desperation. But those emotions fade quickly, and he returns to his delusions. There is only one emotion that is strong enough to last longer."

Tundra opened her mouth to ask, but once again, Dr. Honeybee anticipated the question. "Please don't ask that. I've already spoken much more than I should about Buck. I told you that my sessions are private."

"How long will it take until. . .?"

"I cannot say. It may take months or even years," Dr. Honeybee said sadly. "It's all up to Buck, and I'm afraid Buck is fighting to keep his secrets."

Tundra's heart sank to her tale. _He's not going to stick around for all that time. He'll leave soon, maybe tomorrow or the day after. And I'll probably never get through to him, even if I visit._

"Is there anything I can do?" Tundra asked, feeling a little desperate.

Dr. Honeybee gave her a look to say, _Did I just say I don't give advice_? As much as he would have like to, he couldn't. "What do _you_ think you can do to help Buck?"

Tundra looked down, her mind looping around through everything she had already thought about, but nothing new came up.

"Have a good day, Miss Tundra," Dr. Honeybee said with a bow of his head, and moved on.

As the badger lumbered off, Tundra wanted to shout back at him, _That's what I've been asking myself all this time._ She wanted to berate him for treating her as a patient. And in the end, she realized how hard it must be to be Dr. Honeybee. Everyone expected him to fix their problems, and don't want to do any of the work. And if he didn't fix the problem, then it was all his fault.

_At least he can walk away from this mess. It isn't his life,_ she told herself. _I wish I could leave too._

The reddish-brown mink desired more fermented juice, and didn't quell it. She made her way to the drinks, and discovered Frost sitting at a log with the opossum brothers. They were laughing and talking joyfully.

_That looks like a really good idea._

"Hey, guys," she said as she sat next to them with her own drink. "You look like you're having a good time." As she said this, she looked down at the many empty drink containers near them and the big goofy looks on their faces.

"Are you kiddin'?" Frost said much more happily than should be possible. "These guys are geniuses. Our family ignores me when I'm around them."

That set the three of them laughing.

"Perfect," Tundra said, and plopped herself down. "Right now, I just want to drown my sorrows."

"Ahhh, still having trouble with Mr. Pineapple," Frost said, her voice starting to slur. "Maybe we should get him drunk. He won't be thinking about fruit then."

Tundra remembered the one time Buck did get drunk. He wasn't a very happy drunk. And at the way she was going, she would be just like him. Tipping her drink back to her mouth, she down the entire contents as fast as she could.

"Oooooo," the opossum brothers said in awe.

"Feelin' better?" Frost asked.

"Getting there," Tundra said, and hiccuped. "I need to get another."

"No worries," Crash said with a conspiratorial grin. "We found their supply."

Eddie took her eggshell, and dipped it in the largest reed Tundra had ever seen. When he brought it back up, it was filled with liquid.

"Keep them comin' boys," Tundra said with a small smile. "It's going to take a lot for me to forget about Buck."

"Forget?" Eddie asked, almost dropping her drink. "You mean. . ."

"Yep, I'm done with him," Tundra told them, sipping her drink. "I've spent too much time on that weasel. I harbored a hope that he'd eventually realize how I feel about him, but it seems he would prefer to stay in his stupid fantasy. In a couple of days, he'll go back down his hole and I'll never see him again."

"Huh? You're going to quit him entirely?" Crash asked. "But aren't you friends? He'll miss you."

"No, he won't. He's already made it clear I'm just like the rest of the evolution chain," Tundra told them. "Did he come visit you guys? No, Buck only cares for Buck."

Frost didn't like how her cousin was talking, even if she didn't like Buck. That stupid weasel was the only mammal that had made Tundra happy, and curse the freak for breaking her heart. She put a paw on Tundra's drink, and tipped it further into Tundra's mouth.

"Keep drinking," Frost said as Tundra sputtered from the surprise. "You're gonna have to drink a lot more if you want to beat me."

"I don't know. You already look like you're about to pass out," Tundra said with a wild grin that reminded everyone of Buck.

"Is that a challenge?"

"You're on."

* * *

><p>Buck had to admit that Tundra was raised in a strange family. He stayed around her grandmother for a while until she told him to go mingle with the younger crowd. Buck then found himself always surrounded by curious minks that seemed to have heard stories about him, some of them wilder than anything he'd done in real life. However, just to mix things up, he told all of them that the stories were all true. Some of them walked away with wide eyes. Other gave him skeptical glances before shaking their head and leaving.<p>

After a while, he spotted what appeared to be two opossums passed out on the ground and two noisy drunk minks singing on top of a log. He had a curious look on his face when he realized that it was Tundra and Frost, singing very poorly an ice sailor song with bawdy lyrics. Shaking his head with a slight grin on his face, he went toward them.

"Hey, Tundra. There's your hot fiance," Frost shouted during the chorus, sloshing her drink all over her white pelt.

Suddenly Buck stopped in mid-stride as he followed Frost's finger to a brackish colored mink that was swaggering through the crowd. Buck was sure that in the mink community that this particular mink was good looking, according to how many females looked his way with longing. And even though he had never met this mink before, the weasel had an immense dislike of him, though he couldn't say why.

"Heeeeeeey, Rooooooockyyyyyyyyyy," Tundra hollered in a way only completely tipsy mammals could. She jumped off (or a better word for it would be she fell off like a pigskin full of water), and wobbled to the handsome mink. "You're pretty," she told him, and started petting his face.

"Go on, Tundra. Give him a kiss!" Frost shouted, still on top of the log.

"Shhhhhhhhh," Tundra shushed very loudly. "You're not suppose to kiss until your married."

"What? That's not true," Frost told her cousin, and stumbled toward her. "I've kiss lots of guys before. It's fun."

Rocky watched the two cousins with a look of bemusement. He folded his arms and watched them as if they were doing a skit for his amusement.

"It's easy," Frost insisted. "Here. I'll show you." She then grabbed Rocky's face, and laid a big one on his lips.

The crowd of minks gasped as such impropriety, and gossip started to run rampant through the party.

Tundra's mouth dropped open in surprise, and, when the kiss was over, started to laugh. "You just kissed my fiance."

"That's 'cause I have to teach you," Frost told her. The white mink started to sway a little. "Nobody's gonna want to marry you unless you know how to kiss."

Rocky stepped away, flabbergasted that he had just been violated.

"I know how to kiss. It ain't science," Tundra said. She grabbed Rocky's face just like Frost, and pulled him close to her.

Seeing that his fiance was about to kiss him, Rocky put his paws on her hips and pulled her closer. "By all means, go ahead and show me that you know how to kiss," he said suavely.

They were about to embrace when a strong arm wrapped around Tundra's waist.

"Whoa, lassie," Buck said, and towed her away from the male mink. "I think you've had enough. Maybe you and your cousin should go home."

Rocky had a look of disappointment on his face.

"What!? We're having a great time," Frost protested. She tried to push Buck and Tundra apart, and ended up on her own tail. "We haven't had enough."

It had been a while since Buck had dealt with uncooperative drunks, but he still had a slight knack. And that was to lie, lie, lie.

"No, you haven't? I'm sorry, I was mistaken," Buck said apologetically. "But I'm afraid that all the drinks are gone, and the party is now over."

"What?" Tundra asked with a long, sad face. "The drinks are all gone?"

"Naw, we still have our stash," Frost said with a big grin.

"Then you're willing to share it with everyone, right?" Buck said with a smug grin.

Frost's head started to nod in circles as if Buck kept moving. "Oh, I guess we should be going then; how 'bout it, Tundra?"

"Let's go to your place," Tundra suggested.

Frost agreed, and the two females picked up the large reed and staggered away. Tundra only paused a moment to shake Crash and Eddie.

"Hey, get up," she called to them, almost falling down in the effort.

"Leave them. They can't hold anything," Frost said in disgust.

Buck chuckled at their retreating backsides. Frost didn't surprise him, but he never thought that Tundra would ever get drunk. It was quite entertaining.

Thinking that he should probably leave too before his welcome was worn out, he turned around. To his astonishment, Tundra's mother was right in front of him with a soft look on her face, and his wife in her paws.

"Mr. Buck, thank you very much for that," she said sincerely. "You handled that very well."

"It was nothin', m'am," Buck said modestly.

"I saw that you dropped this," she said, and handed the pineapple over. ". . . And I just wanted to offer. . . . if you and your two friends need a place to stay, you're welcome at my home." Tundra's mother gestured to the sleeping opossums with her paw.

"I thank you kindly, but I'll take them home. Their sister worries," Buck told her. "It's not yet dark, so I think we'll be okay."

Tundra's mother nodded, thanked him once more, and then left. She had every intention of asking about the pineapple, but wanted to be polite as she expressed her gratitude. She hadn't known of Tundra and Frost's excessive drinking, nor their embarrassing display until it was too late. She only arrived to see Buck diffuse the situation with little fuss, and she felt deep gratitude for that act. And when some mammal had helped her out in such a situation, she made sure they knew it.

Buck checked up on the opossum brothers, and they seemed to be just fine. But instead of taking them home like he had said, he left them where they were. He had one last thing to do before he left.

"Hey there, big guy. I think we need to have a guy to guy talk," Buck said with a big smile as he put a paw on Rocky's shoulder.

The mink looked down at the weasel with half-opened eye-lids. "Excuse me? Oh it's you. Have you come to stop the fun again?"

"Oh no, I just thought I'd give some good advice to the groom-to-be," Buck answered innocently. "Please come with me. I insist."

Buck's grin grew so wide that Rocky was sure when Buck said, "I insist" what he really meant was, "You really have no choice but to come with me."

Trying to act nonchalant, Rocky shrugged. "Sure."

As they moved away from the larger group, Buck picked up a few nut shells of fruit juice. He always felt that males bonded better over a strong drink. They settled themselves down with their backs against a log, and each took a gulp of their nut shell.

"So, the rumor is that you've saved Tundra when she ran away," Rocky started out, wanting to show Buck he wasn't scarred of him.

"Somethin' like that," Buck said with a nod of his head.

"Since you spent all that time together, you know her pretty well, right?"

Buck shrugged.

"She isn't, like, crazy or anything."

"Naw, she has a good head on her shoulder. But you should know that, bein' her fiance an' all."

"Not really," Rocky murmured, and took another drink. "This is only the second time we've seen each other, and today was _really_ a shocker."

"Yeah, she surprised me too," Buck chuckled. "So, I'm guessin' that this was an arranged weddin'."

"Yeah. It's like some sort of tradition in my family," Rocky said in a way that told he didn't really care.

Buck downed the rest of his drink, and burped loudly. "Then yer in luck, m'lad. You see, I was sort of in the same position that you are in when I was married. At least, we didn't know each other until we were hitched."

"Oh, you're married?" Rocky asked, relief rushing through him. "So there's nothing going on between you and Tundra?"

Buck's eye twitched, and a crazy grin cracked along his face. "No, of course not. I'm happily married to my wife." He picked up the pineapple, and gave it a few affectionate pats.

Rocky only raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't ask. He didn't want to know.

"There's one thing you should know about those kind of weddings," Buck told the mink. "Gettin' married is easy. It's the honeymoon that's awkward."

Rocky's eyes suddenly opened up very wide, and he watched Buck from the corners of his eyes in horror. _Don't tell me he's going to give me advice on THAT. _For the next hour, Rocky sat in uncomfortable silence as Buck talked and talked and talked. Most of it was just dealing with everyday living as a married male, but every once in a while, private information slipped in. Each one more disturbing than the last. At the end of this talk, Rocky was sure he'd never eat fruit again.

"Gee, that was. . .er. . .great advice," Rocky lied through his teeth, hoping to get away before he lost his cool. "It was great talking to you."

"Yes, it is great talking to me," Buck agreed. He stood up the same time as Rocky did, and put the mink in a friendly head-lock. "I'm glad we're really getting along. Because I'm going to give you one last bit of advice. And I saved the best for last."

Dreading the answer, Rocky looked up into Buck's congenial face, and asked, "Yeah, and what's that?"

In a flash, Buck pulled out Rudy's tooth, and laid it against the mink's face, the end point right next to Rocky's eye. The change was so quick, Rocky didn't have time to react. And it was good that he didn't. Any kind of struggle would have made him one eye more like Buck. Confused at the strange alteration of the weasel, Rocky looked back up at Buck. The weasel's countenance changed as well. His snarl was far more scarier than the knife.

"I will kill you if I ever find out that you have hurt her," Buck growled out each syllable with malice and primal anger. "Got that."

"Yes, I do," Rocky cried out in a squeaky voice, spending much of his energy trying to hold still.

The knife withdrew, and Buck let the tense mink go. Without another word, Buck walked away as if he didn't just threaten the handsome mink. He seemed very calm, and put together as he made his way to the sleeping opossum duo. Saying not a word and not changing his expression from his stoic one, he picked up both opossums, one in each arm, and walked away.

* * *

><p>The sun was just starting to set when the flock returned to the Blight. When the news was passed to the captain, Red Claw laughed with glee and rubbed his paws together.<p>

"Alright, me hearties. Get those mangy dogs and cats to change course. We have our heading," the Captain shouted, his voice causing everyone to scramble to action. "I want us there by day break."

Soon, the sabers and wolves were made to turn the ice ship slightly to their destination.

The crew, who had been given a small rest from back-breaking labor and now being made to work even more, didn't dare complain. But in their eyes, one could read mutiny there. Captain Red Claw may have been one of the most hated and feared captains, but even he couldn't keep this crew in line for long.

"Are you sure that is wise, my Captain?" Glacier said in a calm manner.

"The sooner I have Buck in my claws, the better," Red Claw growled, spittle hanging from his jagged teeth.

"Ah, I'm guessing you don't have a plan for your revenge yet," Glacier played onto the captain's ego. "Because after all he's done to you, you want him to suffer, don't you?"

One could not call Captain Red Claw dumb. For one, you'd be killed for it. And for another, the large pack rat wasn't as thick as he seemed. He was quite a brilliant strategist, and very good at planning raids. But once he had hold of an obsession or blood-lust was on his tongue, he couldn't think any better than a couple of dodos.

"Yes, make him suffer," Red Claw agreed.

Glacier studied a few of his own claws to see if he had broken any. "Then please realize that if you continue to push your crew to their limits, they won't be in any condition to take orders from you."

The captain staved off his hatred for Buck to look around and see reason. "No, I need my crew functional. I need them to capture Buck, and bring him to me."

"Then you should let them work in shifts. We'll be able to arrive around mid-day, I expect," Glacier.

"Yes. New orders!" Captain Red Claw shouted to his crew. "You'll be working in shifts, lads. Half of you get some rest. We'll arrive at mid-day. And we'll have our revenge!"

At this news, the crew cheered at such good news. They moved like clock work; no arguments or scuffles over who worked when. They were well oiled from their constant fear of their captain and his first mate.

"What a good idea. I'm glad I thought of it," Captain Red Claw said to bolster his ego. However, after a while, he felt very chilly. When he looked up, the eyes of Glacier were locked upon him, and starring him down with a look as powerful as gale force winds, chilling him all the way until it felt like his heart was pumping ice.

"Okay, fine. It was your idea," Red Claw grumbled. "I don't think it's seemly for the first mate to stare down the captain."

"I only ask that credit goes where credit is due," Glacier said, now back to his calm and non-scary self.

"Hmph," Red Claw grunted, always needing to have the last word.

* * *

><p>Deep in the darkest part of Frost's hollow log, the two mink cousins lay curled up tightly next to each other. They were sleeping off all the fruit juice they drank, and would have happily slept the whole day long, if it wasn't for something loud and annoying knocking against the hollow tree. The reverberations echoed all through Frost's home, and disturbed the hung-over females.<p>

"Oh, I've died and gone to hell," Tundra moaned, wrapping her tale over her face.

"No, believe me. We're still alive," Frost contradicted. "I don't think hell would hurt this much."

"Rise an' shine, ladies."

"I'll kill him!" Tundra shouted, despite just waking up from a dream that featured the spotted weasel. "I'll kill him when the world stops spinning."

Buck finally found them as he poked around Frost's domicile. "Come on, get up. You'll only make the pain last longer if you sit their moaning. Walking around will help."

"This is worse than the chasm of death," Tundra whimpered as Buck nudged her with his foot.

"Come on, mammals. Buck up," Buck said, laughing a bit at his own little joke. "I need you to do something for me."

"Unless it involves strangling you into silence, I'm not doing it," Frost growled, and rolled away from the weasel until she was in a corner.

"Get up, this is important," Buck coxed the reddish-brown mink.

At that Tundra did sit up, one paw covering a majority of her eyes. "What is it, Buck?" she asked, concerned that something was wrong. Suddenly her vision was filled with mottle browns and greens that had the appearance of being slightly irked.

"I need you to stay with my wife for a while," Buck pleaded in his gruff way, holding the pineapple directly in Tundra's red-eyed gaze. "I have an appointment that's just between me and the doc. And then her appointment is after mine, so in a while bring her down to the doc's."

For a few seconds, Tundra felt dead as she tried to figure out why that was so important. Then she wanted to scream. She felt like crying. But she didn't do either. Instead, she reached into her fur and pulled out the rock knife she had deftly hid from her family. She unsheathed the knife so quickly that Buck barely dodged it. She knew he would, but that didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey, what are you. . .?" Buck started to ask with a smile as if it were a joke, but had to stop as Tundra launched at him with another attack. He rolled away, cradling the pineapple so it didn't get hurt. It was during the mink's third attack that he pulled out Rudy's tooth.

"This isn't the time for this," Buck told Tundra, giving her a look as if she were crazy.

"SELFISH!" Tundra shouted at him, her blue eyes ablaze.

"Huh?"

"You are so selfish!" Tundra shouted at the weasel while constantly swiping at him with her knife.

"ME?!" Buck was baffled by his friend's behavior. This couldn't have been the mammal that only a moment ago was lying like a slug in agony.

"Yes. You don't think of anyone but yourself. Do you even realize what your actions do to those around you?!" Tundra continued to shout out all her words. "Do you realize how infuriating you are? How much you disrupt the lives of others?"

Buck was so stunned by this that he almost didn't block Tundra's next assault. However, she nicked his shoulder, drawing blood, which made him go on the offense. "I haven't seen any. . ."

"Because you've been blind to the rest of the world, Buck," Tundra yelled. As Buck pushed her back with his skills, she flipped back and then rushed forward to confuse the weasel.

Buck, in turn, started into the fancy footwork. He moved closer to Tundra so that he could use his other appendages to fight, and not just his knife. He noticed that Tundra was doing the same.

"I don't know what you are talking about?" Buck shouted at the mink, his voice completely serious.

"Of course you don't," Tundra spat at him. "Rule number one is always listen to Buck. Buck never has to listen to anyone else."

Buck spun in a quick circle, tripping Tundra up with his tail. But the move made little difference when Tundra quickly jumped back to her feet by curving her back. She then faked a punch to his gut with her right, and caught him with a kick instead. The strike didn't affect Buck at all as he grabbed her fur, and tossed her away from him. The mink only rolled from the toss, and was back into the fight in no time.

"I'm listening now. Tell me what's wrong," Buck told her, his eyes locked onto hers so he could read her actions.

Tundra dropped her fighting crouch to chuckle hysterically at the ceiling. "Yeah, that's great. You're listening, but only if its spelled out for you. You know, you never try to understand anyone, do you? But why do you need to, when you're hiding away in you're own little paradise."

"Is that what you think I do?" Buck shouted, sounding angry.

"I don't know, since you never talk about your past," Tundra shot back at him.

"I don't hide!"

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Tundra asked in a teasing voice.

"You don't know anything about that," Buck growled, his fists clenched.

"But what does Buck care. He's been living in his own little world that's all about him. Nothing but Buck. Because that's all Buck cares about. Nothing to loose and nothing to gain, which is why he doesn't care if he lives or dies. Isn't that right, Buck?"

Buck didn't say a think.

"ISN'T THAT RIGHT, BUCK?!" Tundra shouted at him as loud as she could, walking up right into her face.

"What would you know?" Buck glowered at her. "You're just a silly, little pampered mink who thought it was fun to play adventure. You've never had to be alone. You've always had someone looking after you."

Tundra was so startled that Buck started retaliating with his words that she lifted her paw to slap his face. His paw met hers, and he stopped the attack by holding onto her wrist. Tundra knew the slap was a mindless reaction, and tried to punch him in the face. However, that too, was stopped by Buck's paw. With both front paws caught, Tundra tried to get away.

"Stop it!" Buck shouted at her, and she stopped struggling. "What do you want from me?"

Tundra bowed her head, and told him softly, "Just leave."

"Gladly. You need to cool your head before your weddin'. Maybe you'll be civil enough to talk to me then," Buck told her firmly as he dropped her paws.

"No, I don't want to see you at the wedding," Tundra said in a firmer voice, her head still down. "Get out of here. Go home, Buck."

Buck stepped back, surprised at what she was saying.

Tundra looked up, her face full of hurt and anger. "This isn't your world anymore, Buck. You don't belong up here. Go home, and be happy. Just GO!"

"But. . ."

Tundra turned her back to the weasel, her arms crossed like she was refusing to talk to a naughty child. "Please leave, Buck. I just can't take it anymore," she said in a stoic tone.

And Buck did as she said. He picked up the pineapple from where he left it almost mechanically. He didn't look back, but kept putting one paw in front of the other.

What Buck didn't see when Tundra turned her back to him was the tears pouring out of her eyes and soaking into her fur. And once he was gone, he didn't see that she sank to her knees, her emotions too much for her to bear.

Once Buck was gone, Frost crawled over to her cousin, and enfolded her into an embrace.

"Curse that weasel for doing this to you," Frost told her cousin, vehemence in her voice. "I'm glad you gave all that to him. I wish I could have done it for you."

Tundra shook from her sobbing. "I hate myself," she told her cousin. "I hate myself for what I've done to him."

"Shhhhhh," Frost calmed her, rubbing her back. "It's alright. You did what you had to. He doesn't deserve you."

And Tundra cried and cried until she was dry, and to her surprise, her cousin wept with her.

_Goodbye, my love. I hope that you will be happy._

__-Chapter notes:

I was very sad that nobody took the opportunity to ask any of the characters questions, or ask me any question, save for one person. And most of those questions were answered in this chapter. So thank you Kayladestroyer for asking questions, and I hope all of them are answered. I would also like to them Kayla for seeing a big spelling error in my chapters. I spelled "saber" as "sabor" because I didn't take the time to look it up.

I received a lot of comments about Tundra's mother, Clarissa, that made me think. Many said that they see her as the villian, which surprised me. But I guess I see it. I wonder if everyone still sees her as one now, and if you will continue to see her as one until the end of the story (by the way, I only have two chapters left).

Please be aware that anything related to therapy or therapist in this story may or may not be accurate. I had to look up some information about writing psychiatrists, and some of my information comes from watching Monk. Not everything I've said is fact, so don't quote me. I thought that it would be okay since it's the Ice Age, and it most likely won't be perfect until the year 2050. LOL

And that reminds me. Did my therapy sessions seem realistic to everyone? I've never needed therapy, so I'm not sure. The scenes where I go further into Buck's personality were really hard for me. Some days, I would just stare at the computer and after a half hour realized I hadn't written anything. However, near the end, most of it came out like vomit. Yay, great image.

I would tell everyone my next goal for the next chapter, but I've seen where that gets me. So, I'm afraid that the next chapter will come when it comes. Last time, I told my goals so that those people who don't have a account didn't have to check my story every day for updates. Now, all I have to say to those people is get an account. Because fanfiction isn't that great that you need to check up on it every single day.

One last thought to everyone, the end of the world's coming up, so prepare for that. I have my three melons, so I'm good. If you don't plan ahead then DOOM ON YOU!


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Speak

(Author's note: Thank you everyone for waiting patiently for this chapter. This one was belated because I suffered a bout of depression that made it impossible for me to write anything for six weeks. But I'm glad I got this one done. I know I told you last time that there would only be two more chapters, I made a mistake. This chapter was everything that I wanted in chapter 10 but couldn't fit, and it became its own chapter. So there are still two more chapters. I wrote the ending and edited this chapter while having a horrible cold that makes my eyes water, so I hope everyone likes it.)

You and me  
>We used to be together<br>Everyday together always  
>I really feel<br>That I'm losing my best friend  
>I can't believe<br>This could be the end  
>It looks as though you're letting go<br>And if it's real  
>Well I don't want to know<p>

Don't speak  
>I know just what you're saying<br>So please stop explaining  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<br>Don't speak  
>I know what you're thinking<br>I don't need your reasons  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<p>

Our memories  
>Well, they can be inviting<br>But some are altogether  
>Mighty frightening<br>As we die, both you and I  
>With my head in my hands<br>I sit and cry

Don't speak  
>I know just what you're saying<br>So please stop explaining  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<br>Don't speak  
>I know what you're thinking<br>I don't need your reasons  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<p>

It's all ending  
>I gotta stop pretending who we are<br>You and me I can see us dying are we?

Don't speak  
>I know just what you're saying<br>So please stop explaining  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<br>Don't speak  
>I know what you're thinking<br>I don't need your reasons  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<br>Don't tell me cause it hurts!  
>I know what you're saying<br>So please stop explaining

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 11: Don't Speak

By Hatashi Kitty aka Emilou

"Everyone, look your best. Hurry up, or we'll be late," Ellie squealed as she rushed around in the snow. First she smoothed out Peaches' hair, and then brushed off Diego's fur of dust before pulling a few twigs out of Sid's pelt.

"Ellie, it's just a wedding," Manny said in his dull voice.

"Just a wedding?" Ellie repeated, looking as if Manny were mental. "Are you joking? This is the first wedding I've been to. . . .well, besides my own. Oh, this is so exciting."

Diego snorted. "It's going to be a _mink_ wedding. How exciting can it be?" Diego complained. He ruffled his fur since it felt so stiff from Ellie's grooming.

"Oh, a fancy wedding," Ellie said excitedly, her trunk hugged up against her face. "I can't wait."

Eddie and Crash looked the most uncomfortable of the whole herd. Ellie had made them take a bath. With Sid. And they were freezing as they dried off. The sloth didn't seem to care. He took the cold with his usual disturbing smile.

"What I wouldn't give to roll in something smelly," Eddie murmured with downcast eyes.

"You know it, bro."

"I haven't seen Ellie this excited in a long time," Sid mentioned as he tried to dry his course fur. "Does she know its not going to start until sunset?"

"Yes," the rest of the herd chorused with a long sigh.

* * *

><p>Buck stumbled through the snow, his mind a jumble of chaos and discord. . . more than usual anyway. There were emotions flowing through him that didn't make sense to him. They were the same emotions he had a few days ago, right before he came back up to the ice age, and they didn't make sense either. All he knew was that they were always connected to Tundra. But why?<p>

Whenever he tried to answer that question, there seemed to be something blocking his thoughts? There was a reason he shouldn't answer that question. It would break something down;Tear down everything he'd set up. Things wouldn't be the same.

Would that be so bad?

_They could always be worse. What if she doesn't feel the same?_

The same as what, Buck couldn't say. His mind became muddy as he tried to reason everything out. Eventually, he looked down at the pineapple in his arms and wondered about it.

Then he remembered a time, over a year ago. He was very lonely, and his mind was very muddy. He felt the torment of not having a single animal to speak to. But he wouldn't leave. He couldn't leave. It would have been far worse to leave. But reality was becoming too cruel for him.

And that's when he met his wife, and he was able to cope with anything that came his way. He was able to be himself, only a little more free. He could say what he wanted, and do what he wanted.

But then Tundra came, and the muddiness came back. But why would it come back? He wasn't lonely, was he? Or was it something else?

"I can't be alone 'gain," Buck said, and he enveloped the pineapple in his arms, the rough texture of the fruit irritating his skin under his thin fur. "I can't take th' loneliness."

Panic seeped through him as the possibility of his continued isolation went up, and he grasped at any straws to prevent it.

"The doc will know what t' do," Buck told himself and the fruit, putting all his faith in Dr. Honeybee. "He can help me. He'll know why I hurt so much."

Through the snow, the weasel staggered as if he were lame or injured in some way. He muttered to himself or to some imaginary animals that weren't there. His eyes grew wider and twitched as the stress caused too much adrenaline to serge through his system. When he arrived at the entrance to the badger's burrow, he collapsed in the snow, not from exhaustion, but out of a sense of relief. He made it to his salvation.

A while later, Dr. Yew came trudging through the snow to the badger's burrow, but stopped when he saw the motionless form on the ground. Instead of helping the weasel up, he rushed into the burrow to tell Dr. Honeybee. A few moments later, the two came out to stare down at the prone figure.

"Mr. Buck, are you okay?" Dr. Honeybee asked, his voice calm as if he knew the reason for Buck's strange behavior.

Buck only twitched and trembled, starring out into nothing while mumbling to himself. When the badger bent over to touch him, Buck latched onto the larger mammal's fur. "The rocks won't speak t' me anymore!" Buck shouted frantically, and twitched as his eyes darted around the landscape.

Dr. Honeybee was startled at first, but his training kicked in. He gently coached Buck into the burrow. "They aren't. How rude of them," he said in a soothing tone. "Why don't you come in and tell me all about it. Dr. Yew, if you would, retrieve Mr. Buck's consort."

Dr. Yew turned back, and saw the pineapple laying in a deep pile of snow. Without thinking, he bent to pick it up like any other object, but he stopped before his paws touched the skin. Dr. Yew felt his cheeks start to grow warm at the thought of helping the pineapple inside, to finally touch it. And after a while, it seemed like the pineapple was looking at him in an inviting and alluring way. Carefully, he picked it up and carried it gently inside, never letting his eyes stray too long from it.

The two mammals in the front arrived at the therapy room first. Dr. Honeybee set Buck onto a seat, and fetched him some water to drink to calm him down a little. From there, he spotted Dr. Yew coming in, and intercepted the beaver.

"It seems Mr. Buck has had a psychotic episode, and I think it would be best if only I talked to him," Dr. Honeybee told his assistant. "He's already agreed to a separate session, and perhaps without his anchor, he will open up more. It always gets worse before it gets better."

Dr. Yew tried not to look too happy about being alone with the pineapple, so he nodded once without a word.

"Is that better?" Dr. Honeybee asked when he turned back to Buck, and handed over a nut shell with water in it.

Buck had covered his eyes with one paw as if he were dizzy or had a head ache. "Where's me wife?" he asked as he took the water shakily.

"She's safe," Dr. Honeybee said gently. "You were collapsed in front of my burrow, and muttering nonsense. Did something happen?"

Buck clenched his paws tightly. "I had a fight." He drained the nutshell in one gulp, and set it down on the floor.

"With your wife?" Dr. Honeybee asked, his ears perked up in interest.

"Naw. Wit' Tundra," Buck said slowly.

This interested the badger far more, and he settled down for the session. "What did you fight about?"

Buck made a face as if he were staring at a dust mote that was right in front of his face. After staying like that for a while, he looked back at the badger and said, "I really have no idea wha' it was about? Only tha' she was mad a' me. She said I was selfish."

"Selfish? Did she say why you were selfish?"

Buck shrugged and shook his head. "Naw, she was a lil' preoccupied wit' tryin' t' stab me."

Dr. Honeybee's eyes went wide as he tried to imagine the shy little mink stabbing anyone with a knife. But he did recall she had spent several months with Buck, and he could make a savage out of anyone.

"An' then she told me t' go away," Buck said, his ears laid down across his head. His one eye looked behind him as if looking at Tundra.

The badger nodded. "Sometimes even best friends need some time alone."

"I'm goin' home today," Buck said, looking crestfallen. "I came for this session, an' t' say goodbye."

The announcement came as a shock to Dr. Honeybee. While he didn't hold the record of the most successful therapist in the entire Ice Age, he didn't like the idea of loosing Buck as a patient. It wasn't just a relationship on the line, but Buck's quality of life. If Buck was allowed to return home as he was, he'd just sink deeper into his madness. The torment he was inflicting on himself would tear him apart.

"I'm sure Tundra didn't mean it. She is probably under a lot of stress," Dr. Honeybee tried to fix the solution.

"Naw, she's been under a lot more stress than tha'. Try facin' down a rampagin' triceratops. Now that's stress," Buck tried to laugh, but it deflated quickly.

_I can't let this happen, _Dr. Honeybee told himself. _I don't like it, but I think I have to risk pushing him._

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," the badger said, trying to sound like this was an ordinary session. "I grew rather fond of our conversations. Does that mean you think your marriage is doing well?"

"Oh yeah," Buck said with an unconscious shrug. "We've really patched things up. Thanks, doc."

"Have you given my question any more thought?" Dr. Honeybee asked, his voice insistent. "I found it quite a coincidence that Tundra and your marriage problems happened so close together."

Buck shrugged. "Didn't really have a lot o' time t' think about it?"

"Perhaps we can discuss it. What does your wife think of Tundra?"

"I don't know. They've always gotten along t'gether."

"But yesterday, your wife brought up Tundra as a problem. Is your wife jealous of Tundra?"

"Why would she be?" Buck defended with a frown.

"Well, who do you spend more time with, your wife or Tundra?"

No response.

"Do you share the experiences you have with Tundra with your wife?"

No response.

"Have you had any recent strange dreams? Do you dream more about Tundra or your wife?"

No response.

"Mr. Buck, I don't see how I can help you unless you open up to me. Why aren't you answering my questions?"

"'Cause they don't make any sense," Buck said with a slight pout of his mouth. "You make it sound like there's somethin' goin' on between me an' Tundra."

"Is there?"

"Well . . .I. . ."

"Do you have feelings for Tundra?"

"I. . .I. . ."

"It's okay. Everything you say is confidential. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm married, doc. You're talkin' nonsense," Buck muttered and hunched over.

_For some reason, he's set up blocks that are preventing him from being happy. Perhaps he feels like he needs to punish himself, or protect Tundra. It may even be that, because of his delusional marriage, he feel morally obligated to stay with his "wife". And on a higher level, he's convinced himself that only his delusions can save him from loneliness. Yet there's still a part of him that hopes another can give him the emotional support he needs. After all, he created the rift between himself and his "wife". And he left his comfort zone just to follow Tundra all this way. If only he'd forget about that blasted pineapple._

But Dr. Honeybee knew that the worse thing you can say to someone with delusions was that those illusions weren't real. It only causes the patient to panic and hold on tighter to their delusions.

"She didn't even tell me she was gettin' married 'til two days ago," Buck said loudly in an outburst that surprised the badger. "How can ya be mates wit' someone for months, and not tell them tha?"

"It must have come to a great surprise," Dr. Honeybee agreed.

"You're tellin' me."

"And have you met Miss Tundra's fiance?"

"Sure, great guy," Buck said with a shrug. "He doesn't deserve her."

"Why do you say that?"

"His name is Rocky," Buck said as if it were obvious. "He wasn't named tha' for his brains. An' that's what Tundra needs is someone who has brains. Not some pretty-boy."

"And does Tundra seem congenial about this union? I heard it was arranged, and I never had the chance to ask her."

"Well, she hasn't called it off," Buck growled, looking much darker at this. "So I'm guessin' its 'congenial'." Buck said the last word with layers of mockery in his voice.

"Have you talked to Miss Tundra about this? You two are friends," Dr. Honeybee asked, getting more and more excited. Finally, the weasel was starting to open up to his feelings.

"I shouldn't have t'," Buck said and threw his paws into the air. "I taught her how t' think an' analyze the situation. She should see it plain as day."

"Not everyone thinks the same way in different situations," Dr. Honeybee explained. "You taught her how to think and analyze situations in the jungle, where she is always in danger. Here, she is home and safe."

Buck thought about this, and nodded in agreement. "But I still expect more from her. I don't understand why she's actin' this way. Why would she go through being wit' someone she doesn't know? It's just. . .crazy."

"It's all part of interpretation," Dr. Honeybee chided softly. "What you might think is craziness, she might see as an opportunity. Minks have been arranging marriages for years and years. It's a tradition. Tundra could be just following after her family's footsteps. She's honoring her parent's wishes.

"Or there are a number of other reasons. Perhaps she's ready to finally settle down, and go on with her life. There's security in having another in one's life. Her fiance is sure to take good care of her.

"Another reason is that she might feel she has no choice. Perhaps she'd like to take another path, but there are obstacles in her way that she cannot get around. I have seen situations where, when happiness is cut off, the individual seeks out a similar path. It won't bring them happiness, but it is easier and they feel justified in their decision.

"Those individuals, often cave from the stress, allow themselves to be led or even dragged down that path just for the sake of going somewhere. And then, after a while, they start to believe that the path is they way they wanted to go. They accept it as something good, and even create a false sense of security and happiness. Eventually, they are so far in their delusions, they often find excuses to stay where they were even if the opportunity to leave appears."

Buck thought about this, and then shook his head. "Naw, doesn't sound like Tundra."

The badger shrugged. "Either way, if this isn't what she wants but still goes for it, she'll regret it. Eventually, her nerves will wear thin, and she'll grow even more unhappy."

"Is there anyway t' help her?" Buck asked. He was a little confused by what Dr. Honeybee said. Most of it went in one ear and out the other. However, some of it went straight to his heart, and he felt jittery because of it. He had an over-whelming desire to run to Tundra, and take her in his arms. Just like in his dreams. He shook the desire away.

"My impression of Tundra is that she has a strong will in things she's confident in," Dr. Honeybee told the weasel. "But I'm afraid she has little confidence now, and need someone to open another path for her."

Buck looked as if he were in deep conversation.

"Hmmmm, it seems we're all out of time for today, Mr. Buck," the badger said almost apologetically. "And I guess I won't be seeing you again, Mr. Buck. Good luck to you."

"Um. . .Yeah, same t' you," Buck said in an absent minded way and shook paws with the badger.

As the two mammals left the therapy room, they heard giggling. It stopped once they spotted the beaver and pineapple.

"Dr. Yew, help Mr. Buck with his wife," Dr. Honeybee instructed, eying his assistant carefully.

"Aren't you goin' t' have a session wit' her?" Buck asked, his eyes showing that he insisted that the doctor talk to the pineapple.

Dr. Honeybee counted to ten, frustrated to think that his therapy hadn't budged Buck an inch. "I suppose you can wait here until we are finished," the badger said sadly. He did not look forward to sitting in a room with _that_ pineapple staring at it for an hour.

"Naw, I thought I'd take a walk. I have a lot t' think about," Buck said, in a very unenthusiastic way. "Do you think you could help her find the wedding afterward?"

At this Dr. Honeybee looked interested. "So you are going to Tundra's wedding."

"Yeah. I may not understand a lot about what you said, but I want t' talk t' Tundra one more time before I go," Buck said, shuffling his feet anxiously.

"That's good. A good friend is not someone you should toss away so easily," Dr. Honeybee said with much wisdom.

Once the weasel was gone, Dr. Honeybee addressed his assistant. "Put that in the corner until it's time to leave. We have some work to do."

Dr. Yew looked longingly at the pineapple once he placed it with a caring paw in the corner, and went to his duties.

* * *

><p>Frost and Tundra (after nursing their headaches) started to clean the room. Tundra and Buck had made a royal mess of Frost's home during their scuffling and arguing. As they worked, they talked about what Tundra was going to do.<p>

"So, that's it. No more Buck. At all!?" Frost asked in confusion. "You know I think he's nuts, but you love him, don't you?"

Tundra sighed as she organized Frost's bedding that was scattered about. "Yes, I do. But its clear that he'll never see me that way."

"But you're talking about never seeing him again. Ever. Are you sure that's what you want?" Frost asked, concerned for her cousin.

"It's not going to be forever, but I can't be around him while I'm feeling like this," Tundra said. "I'll go see him in a while, once I get over this. And we'll be friends again."

Frost's face became teasing. "Are you sure you're _husband_ will let you off on such a dangerous trip?"

Tundra gave her a surprised look, and realized what she was saying. "Oh, the wedding's today."

"Yeah, and you'll be Mrs. Rocky by sunset," Frost said in a romantic yet sardonic voice. "You aren't going to marry him, are you?!"

Tundra shook her head, her face full of confidence and determination. "No, I'm not," Tundra said with certainty. "I'm tired of pussy-footing around, and letting my family bully me. One good thing about fighting with Buck is that I'm now fired up."

"Yeah, girl. Finally," Frost crowed and flung her paws in the air. "Then I'm comin' too. I want to see this."

"I'm not going to be sword fighting anyone at the wedding. I'm just going to call it off," Tundra said with a grimace. "There's going to be nothing to see."

Frost puffed up her cheeks and pouted. She was angry that she had missed the awesome sword fighting. Having a hangover made her sleep through the entire thing. "I'm pretty sure it's not going to be as easy as that. And I want to be there for moral support."

"You just want to see me grow a backbone," Tundra guessed with confidence.

Frost shrugged with a big grin.

The two minks fixed their fur and cleaned up so they didn't look like they'd been asleep for years. Then, with heads held high, they walked together to the wedding.

* * *

><p>To his frustration, Longtail had a hard time tracking Buck despite his clear tracks. The day before, he followed the weasel as far as a glade where a group of minks were mingling. Longtail didn't like it, and kept away from the large group. Every now and then, he could see or hear Buck in the group, to his puzzlement.<p>

What was Buck doing with a colony of minks? Did his old friend change that much?

Longtail saw no choice but to wait. He hoped that Buck would come this way again. As he waited, the mouse fell asleep in a tiny hollow of a log. When he woke up, the sun had set and all was quiet. The large group of minks had dispersed, and left only half-eaten food and hundreds of tracks. It was a labyrinth of scents that the mouse couldn't untangle. He circled the glade, nose to the ground. After a while, his nose froze up, and he couldn't smell anything.

Still tired and hungry, Longtail scavenged the glade for a meager dinner, and curled up for the night. He hoped that Buck would return to this spot and be able to talk to him then.

The mouse woke up just as the sun peeked over the horizon. He shook himself to warm up his body as he climbed onto a low branch of a tree. It didn't give him the best look-out, but he couldn't risk the pirate birds spotting him in case they were still around. He watched and watched the glade, but he only saw minks running back and forth like a hive of bees. He didn't try to understand the silly mammals, but was very disappointed that Buck wasn't there.

Then he remembered the badger den Buck was at the other day. Perhaps the badger was a friend of the weasel. It made sense; Buck had some very strange acquaintances.

Longtail decided to return to the badger den in case Buck was there. If it came down to it, Longtail would risk talking to the badger. If it meant Buck's safety, it was the least the little mouse could do.

It took most of the day for Longtail to move through the snow. When he had to rest, his small whiskery nose sniffed the air for any danger. The only things he could smell was Buck's scent from the tracks, and o-zone in the air. A snow storm was coming, and within the day. And it was a big one.

Longtail thought he was very close to the badger's den when he spotted a familiar pelt moving through the trees.

"Buck!" he shouted, jumping out of the snow to catch the weasel's attention. But Buck didn't hear. Sprinting through the snow, Longtail realized Buck was moving fast. He wouldn't catch the weasel, but he continued. He just had to warn Buck.

* * *

><p>As if his mind were a pond and someone threw mud into it, Buck felt as if he were looking at the answers to his own questions, but they just weren't clear. He needed to let the mud sink to the pond floor, and let the water smooth out. But his mind was always moving around chaotically, trying to make sense of his world; to make sense of Tundra.<p>

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he was running as if being chased. Or chasing something. He slowed down, and sat on a log. A tree stump sat to his left, and a boulder right in front of him. He was encircled by strangers.

A bush with a few winter berries were growing nearby. They didn't look poisonous, so he passed them around.

"Drink up, fellas," Buck said, and bit into the berry before slurping out the juices. It was kind of bitter, and he cringed. "Whoa, that's strong stuff." He threw away the remains of the berry before grabbing another one. "You know, I don't ge' women. They're so complicated an' unpredictable. You know what I'm sayin'?"

Buck elbowed the stump and winked at it. It didn't say anything in reply.

"Oh, the silent type," Buck said, and sipped at his berry. "Or maybe you don't know wha' I'm sayin'? Don't worry, mate. You'll find the right girl. An' wha' about you?"

The bolder was just as quiet. Or perhaps he had one berry too many.

"It's kind of dead here," Buck observed, feeling far more depressed than he was before. "Perhaps this is where I belong. I've lived a descent life. Maybe I should have died a long time ago."

A large black nose sniffed around the log Buck was sitting on. With an exclamation of delight, the large-eyed, long-snout creature made an exclamation of discovery. Tiny claws reached into the log, and pulled out an acorn. The creature sighed with delight, rubbing his cheek against the rough surface.

"Yeah, you think you're happy now, but just wait," Buck told the squirrel with a dark look. "One o' these days, she'll squash your brains up like jelly an' then you're friends stop talkin' t' you. Am I right guys?"

Buck looked to the stump, and then the bolder for an answer, and then back at the squirrel. "They're just shy."

The squirrel, stiff from caution and fear, looked at the inanimate objects, and then slowly inched away from the weasel with wide eyes.

Buck just sighed, and played with the remains of his berry. "Why did life have t' ge' so complicated?"

Yes, Tundra had made life complicated. So very complicated that it was exciting again. And not the horrible exciting like before the dinosaurs, but fun. It just wasn't fair.

"Buck!" a faint voice called out. It was so soft and far off that Buck couldn't distinguish any characteristics.

"Tundra, is that you?" he called out, his hopes rising. Perhaps she was sorry about their fight. And he had to admit to himself, he was also sorry, even if he wasn't sure what it was about. In fact, he was so sorry, he'd do anything to be mates with her again.

"Buck!" the voice called out again, closer now.

Buck strained to see the mink, but he could see nothing moving through the trees. He moved closer to the voice, and called out, "Where are ya?"

"I'm right here," the voice answered, and it was clear enough to tell it wasn't Tundra. In fact, the voice sounded very low to the ground.

Buck looked down, and saw a mouse jumping around in the snow that practically buried the small rodent. It took a moment for the weasel to recognize him.

"Longtail?" Buck inquired, bending down to take a closer look. He smiled broadly. "What are you doin' here? You've gotten so much bigger. All grown up now."

"There's no time for pleasantries," Longtail said breathlessly. "You're in danger. Captain Red Claw is coming."

The name made Buck straighten up as if old memories were suddenly flooding into his head. This only took a moment, and a new Buck emerged. This new weasel suddenly looked very dangerous and ruthless, his one eyes narrowing at the mouse.

"_Cap'n_ Red Claw?"

"Yes, he took over the ship when you left," Longtail said as loudly as he could. "And he wants revenge for something you did?"

"The map," Buck growled to himself. He pulled out his knife. "Well, let him come. I'll take him on."

"No, you must go," Longtail urged. "He has the whole crew on his side. And Glacier's his first mate."

Buck's fur along his spine stood up, and he forced himself to relax. "I'm not gonna run. I'm tired of runnin'. What direction he's comin' from?"

"From the North. I wish you'd go," Longtail said worriedly. "He means to kill you, not press you back into the crew. And he'll kill anyone who stops in his way."

"Includin' you," Buck said with a shake of his head. "You risked too much, my friend."

Longtail shrugged. "I was thinking of abandoning ship. You just gave me reason to. Now if you excuse me, I firmly believe in preserving my life. Red Claw may waste enough time with those minks that I can get away."

Buck's blood ran chilly, and, for the first time in a long time, he shivered on the inside. "Minks?"

"They're right in his path," Longtail said with a nod. "I don't think he'll let them alone unscathed."

Without another word, Buck ran off as if his pelt were on fire. The chill that had entered his body fueled him with adrenaline and fear, causing him to run faster than he ever had. All his senses were heightened to help his body prepare for anything. His fur had puffed out as best it could to give him the appearance of being bigger than he usually was, and his eyes were dead set as if a target hovered in front of him. But Buck didn't notice any of this. His mind was completely taken over by one single picture.

An image of a large pack rat, bloodying his claws with the blood of a female mink with blue eyes drove him to run faster than he'd ever done before.

* * *

><p>The glade was already packed full of minks; the majority of which were running to and fro like a gaggle of panicky geese, yelling at others to help them out. Most of the trouble seemed to be because a thin mist was coming in. Many were talking about how a storm might be coming, and was hurrying things along so the ceremony could begin before it rolled in. Tundra felt really bad that so much was being done for the wedding, and here she was going to make it all for naught. Catching sight of her mother, she ducked out of the way so she wasn't seen.<p>

"What are you doing?" Frost asked, glaring at her cousin. "You're suppose to stand up to that woman and stop this fiasco."

Tundra gave her cousin a sheepish look. "Instinct?" she tried. But then she stood up, and felt nervous again. "Maybe I should talk to Rocky first. You know, since this is his third wedding that will be canceled. Perhaps I should let him know before all the drama starts."

"Oh, so kindhearted," Frost said with clasped paws. "Well, I guess he does deserve an explanation before we crash the party."

Tundra nodded, and wended her way through the crowd. After asking if the groom had arrived and where he was, the two minks were instructed that he was in the back preparing for the moment. They found a group of Rocky's relatives cluttered together with expressions that were far from joy. More like boredom. The females were mechanically primping themselves while the males lounged around or played games with rocks and nut shells.

"I'd like to see Rocky," Tundra said to a female she recognized as Rocky's mother. She was the only one that didn't look sleepy.

Rocky's mother was dark furred, much like her son, but she was short and had black paws and a black tip to her tail. She wore purple flowers in her fur, far too many that it look gaudy and the scent was over-powering.

"Oh, no you can't," Rocky's mother said while playfully tapping Tundra's nose. "It's bad luck for you two to see each other before the wedding."

Tundra sighed, feeling as if every obstacle that was in her way was tearing down her determination. "It's really important. I can't wait," Tundra insisted. She wondered if she's have to force her way to see Rocky, but the mink stepped aside.

"Ah, young love," Rocky's mother sighed, and let the two through.

Frost stuck a finger in her mouth and made gagging noises.

They moved to a secluded part of the glade that was surrounded on all sides by brush, fallen trees or dunes of snow. The ground was covered with leaves and pine needles, which the two females found kept their feet dry, but felt weird on their pads.

"Hey, mom. Could you send Timber out for some walnuts? I'm feeling peckish," Rocky said in a lazy voice.

Tundra was ready to speak up so she could get this part over with, Frost spoke first.

"I ain't your mother," Frost grunted with crossed arms. "And get your own da-"

A paw slapped over the albino mink's mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"Sorry about my cousin. She's suffering from foot-in-mouth disease," Tundra hissed the last bit at her cousin with a glare.

Rocky looked surprised when he turned around to see who was talking, and gave Tundra a sly smile. "Hey. I guess you couldn't wait until tonight to finish what you started yesterday." His eyebrows bounced seductively at Tundra. However, when he spotted Frost and recognized who she was, his face fell. "Oh, and I see you brought _her _as well."

Tundra decided if anything was to be done about the wedding, she had to keep the three of them as civil as possible. "Rocky, please. I have something very important to tell you. About the wedding." She looked at him with as much sincerity as she could muster.

Rocky sighed. "Does this have to do with the weasel?" Rocky asked in an almost sad tone.

Tundra was surprised by his astute guess. "Yes, it does deal with Buck," she told him with her head tilted downward. "I didn't think it was so obvious. I just wanted to tell you first becau. . ."

The dark brown mink put a finger to Tundra's lips to silence her, and he tilted her head up with the same digit. "You don't have to say anything. I don't believe the rumors at all, my darling."

"Rumors?" Tundra repeated. "Darling?"

"Yes, sweetums," Rocky said, and gathered Tundra into his arms. He didn't seem to notice Tundra ducking out of them as he continued to speak. "There have been many words exchanged about how you and that weasel have a reputation together. But your mother reassures me that your relationship with that wild thing is purely charitable."

Tundra opened her mouth to say something, but her mind was trying to grasp onto what in the deep north Rocky was talking about.

"You have such a kind heart to take in such a disturbed and unpredictable mammal, and I know nothing has happened between the two of you," Rocky said and he held Tundra's paw gently. "But I must warn you, loveheart, that he has grown quite delusional and violent, and I believe he poses a threat to our safety."

Tundra remained silent for so long because she was more amused by how wrong Rocky was than any kind of drive to correct him. After she waited a moment to see if he was going to introduce anymore nonsense, she spoke up. "I'm afraid you have this all wrong, Rocky. To the point, I came to say we need to break up this wedding pronto."

Frost found it quite entertaining to watch Rocky's face change as he processed this small bit of information. She wanted to back up her cousin very much, but the white mink knew that Tundra needed to do this on her own.

"Break up the wedding?" Rocky repeated in a tight voice. "But our parents had an arrangement. And you want me." He said this last part with vigor, his chest puffed out.

"Uhhh, no I don't," Tundra said and took a step back.

"But look at me," Rocky stated and gestured at himself. "Who wouldn't want me? And you so wanted me last night."

Tundra ground her teeth and looked at Frost. "What did we do last night?" she hissed at her cousin, who only shrugged in bemusement. Then Tundra turned back to Rocky, and she resisted the urge to massage her head. "Look, Rocky, I'm sorry if you misread me, and part of its my fault. I didn't have the guts to stand up to my mother earlier and stop this whole fiasco before it blew out of proportion. The point is I can't marry you because I'm in love with someone else."

The male mink looked very surprised and his fur puffed up in defense. "The weasel?! You're in love with that weasel."

Tundra felt her cheeks warm up as the truth came bravely to her tongue. "Yes, I'm in love with Buck," she said bold as brass.

Rocky shook his head. "No, you can't. That's a lie. You can't be in love with that raging maniac."

Tundra shrugged. "He's not a raging maniac all the time."

"No, you don't understand. He's psycho," Rocky said, and grabbed Tundra's forearms. "He tried to kill me last night. He's not right in the brain. And he must have done something to you."

"What? He tried to kill you? What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything? Why are you defending that cracked-up lunatic? I'm the one who almost lost an eye to his deranged fantasies."

Tundra bristled. "You don't know Buck. He wouldn't do something like that unless provoked. He doesn't like hurting others," Tundra said kindly. "He doesn't even like to hurt Rudy unless he has to."

Rocky looked down at the reddish-brown mink, and took a step back. "You're just as crazy as he is, aren't you? It is contagious!"

Tundra narrowed her eyes. "Now I've had just enough of you bad mouthing Buck. Just because you don't understand him, doesn't make him crazy. You can't comprehend all that he has gone through. He's the bravest, strongest and most trustworthy mammal I've ever known. And only coming back to live with you snobs has made it clear to me that he's the sanest one as well."

Rocky sneered. "You are a loon. I'm glad I found out before I was stuck with you. Go now. Go and be with your primitive psycho."

Tundra glared at her ex-fiance. "I'm warning you. Don't you dare say another bad word against Buck."

The dark furred weasel lightheartedly shrugged her threat off. "To think that a mink with your blood could be swayed by that grisly dispic. . ."

With lightning quick reflexes, Tundra fastened one paw around Rocky's windpipe, and squeezed, cutting off whatever the male was going to say. Rocky bent forward as Tundra pulled him closer to her face. The male mink was much taller than her, but the way she stood and the cutting glare she was giving him, Tundra looked far more intimidating than her size suggested. She emitted such a dangerous aura that Rocky was unable to move. He just gasped and starred into her eyes in a trance.

"Not. Another. Word," Tundra punctuated every word quietly as she squeezed harder on the mink's neck. She starred at him for a few more moments before letting him go with a small push.

Rocky stumbled backward once free and gasped for air as his windpipe re-inflated. He sat down, his eyes still wide and starring at the female mink. His mind constantly flickered from the fresh memory of Tundra's glare and Buck's the night before. They were equally terrifying and effective in making him tremble.

"Come on, Frost," Tundra said, her voice no longer cold. "We have a wedding to put a stop to."

"Yes, M'am," Frost said with a salute to her cousin. As she left, she saluted Rocky with a wink. _Finally_, Frost thought to herself. _The family is going to be introduced to the real Tundra._

* * *

><p>The fog rolled in thin at first, but slowly thickened. When afternoon came, all could tell by how dense the fog was that a storm was coming. Even still mammals all over the valley could see through the mist and spot an unfamiliar sight in the sky. A group of birds were flying in V formation, but they didn't sound like geese or ducks. It was a cacophony of caws and squawks from a variety of birds. The mammals barely had time to think about this when they heard a sound similar to an avalanche. The innocent bystanders barely had time to run away when a large, sharp ice ship cut through the snow and fog. The sight of the sabers and wolves pulling it was enough for the locals to give the Blight a wide birth.<p>

At the bow of the ship, Captain Red Claw kept his face toward the wind, his nose constantly sucking in the air. He smiled maniacally as he picked out the scent of his rival among all the other smells. Every once in a while, Glacier would come to him with updates. The birds were guiding them to Buck's last location, which they would soon be at in the hour. The sun sinking into the west, giving them only a few hours of daylight left.

_Enough time to find that weasel and string him up by his tail,_ Red Claw thought devilishly to himself.

Glacier walked up to him in his cool calculating way. "Captain, the rest of the crew has been awoken. They are all well-rested and waiting for orders."

"Excellent," Red Claw murmured, not even bothering to turn his head from the wind. "I smell minks in the air. Wha' does the mate in the crow's nest say?"

Glacier didn't even have to think. He quickly answered, "There's a gathering of minks slightly east of us."

The captain felt his eyes gleam craftily. "Didn't the scoutin' party say somethin' about Buck being wit' a mink?"

"Yes, Captain. The last of the scouting party came in just a moment ago. They said he was associating with a large group of minks last night."

Red Claw guffawed. "You've gotten sloppy, Buck. You shouldn't have created ties wit' anyone, even ones as unlikely as minks. I've got you. Tell the helms-mammal t' head east."

"Yes, Captain," Glacier said with a nod, and left without a sound.

The pack rat lifted his nose higher into the wind, trying to catch every single whiff of his old friend. The longer he sniffed, the more he was sure that he could smell exactly what Buck was feeling. Secretly, he hoped that Buck was feeling a deep dread even if the weasel was unaware of the doom rushing toward him.

It would be a sweet reunion.

* * *

><p>"Friends of the bride or the groom?"<p>

"We're with the bride," Ellie said as she tried to contain her excitement.

The mink that was an usher didn't look at all impressed at the three mammoths waiting to be seated, but he raised an eyebrow at Diego and lifted his nose at Sid.

"This way," the mink said, and scampered with dignity to show them their seats on the bride's side of the clearing. As he left, a new mink stepped forward to usher the next guests in line. However, he spotted two striped pelts following the mammoths, and grabbed a pair of worm-like tails before they could go any further.

"Hey!"

"What gives!?"

"No party crashers," the mink said in a droll voice.

"But we're with them," Crash protested and pointed to the backs of the mammoths.

"And we're close personal friends of the bride," Eddie added.

The mink looked down at them, frowning. "I remember hearing something similar a few months ago when I threw you out of the rehearsal."

"Oh, that was you," the two opossums said together. Soon, the brothers were laying face down in the snow after they'd been given the bum's rush out of the wedding.

"Ah, not again," Eddie whined as he brushed snow out of his course fur. "And this time, we weren't lying."

"It's okay, bro. I've got an idea," Crash looking quite intelligent as he said so.

"I hope it's a good one."

A few minutes later, the opossums approached the wedding wearing leaves around their wastes, flowers on their heads and holding fans made of flower petals and spiderwebs in front of their faces.

"This is a stupid idea," Eddie said as he pulled his leaf skirt up so he didn't trip on it.

"Relax dude. I saw some of the girls dressed like this," Crash said confidently. "Just talk in a girly voice and giggle, and they won't know the difference."

"You are an idiot," Eddie growled.

By that time, they had reached the usher. Luckily, he was different from the one who kicked the opossums out.

"Are you with the bride or the groom?" the usher asked in a squeaky voice. He was quite young, and seemed shy.

"We're with the bride," Crash said in his most feminine voice.

"You two look really nice," the mink said shyly.

"Why thank you" Eddie said, and he batted his eyes at the usher.

"Please follow me," the usher said with a smile.

"See, I told you this would work," Crash said with a grin behind his fan.

* * *

><p>"Are you with the bride or the groom?"<p>

"We are with the bride," Dr. Yew said with a small smile.

"We?" the usher repeated with a raised eyebrow. He looked down at the pineapple in Dr. Yew's paws with a distraught look.

"Er. . ., that is, my companion will be coming later. Dr. Honeybee," Dr. Yew said quickly, feeling a littler nervous at the negative attention from the mink.

The mink nodded with understanding and gestured for the beaver to follow him. "First mammoths and a saber, and now this. . . ," he muttered to himself as he moved through the glade. The usher wanted to put the beaver somewhere in the back, but the strange group from before filled that up. It was almost time to start the wedding, and the only seats available were near the front. With a sigh, the usher had no choice but to seat the beaver close to the bride's mother and father, who were part of the ceremony and wouldn't be seated until later.

"Here you are," he told Dr. Yew. "I'm afraid seating is limited, and your companion will have to sit somewhere else."

"That is fine," Dr. Yew said with a slight smile.

Once in his seat and the usher gone, Dr. Yew set the pineapple on the log next to him. Secretly, his heart was beating quickly at his fortunate situation. First, Dr. Honeybee was called out on an emergency (a patient thought he was a grapefruit and wouldn't get out of a tree) and would arrive late to the wedding. Then Dr. Yew was seated by himself. The beaver craned his neck to look over the crowd, but he didn't see Buck either. So far so good.

Heart still racing, Dr. Yew slowly reached his paw out and held onto one of the pineapple's fronds. He sighed happily, his cheeks turning warm from the fuzzy feelings in his heart.

* * *

><p>"Tundra. Darling. Finally you arrived," Tundra's mother said with a bright smile. "I almost thought you'd miss your wedding. Again." The older female chuckled delicately.<p>

"I've been here for a while, mother," Tundra said, and started walking toward the large crowd gathering for the ceremony.

"Where are you going, dear?" Tundra's mother said, her smile fading. "You can't go on yet. You haven't done your fur, and your tail looks absolutely bushy. We have a lot of work first."

Tundra shrugged her mother's paw away and kept walking. "Mother, I have something to say to everyone. And it can't wait."

Tundra's mother continued to protest until they had attracted a lot of attention. As the two minks followed by Frost approached the front of the crowd, everyone became silent. Once she was the center of attention, Tundra began.

Tundra felt a bit claustrophobic, not just from being watched, but also the fog had grown thicker and enclosed the glade in a grayish bowl.

"Thank you everyone for coming all this way for the wedding. Twice for most of you," Tundra began, her voice slightly weakened as she felt all eyes on her. "A lot of you have worked hard to help my family out for this occasion, which is why I am apologizing to all of you know. There will be no wedding."

The crowd started talking as if a bubble of noise had just been popped. Some were angry, some were sad, and others were just passing around the latest gossip.

"Before all of you make your own conclusions, I want to clear things up," Tundra said, her voice becoming stronger. "A few months ago, I disappeared right before getting married, and that was because I felt that there was more to my life than what my parents laid out for me. So I decided to have an adventure before I settle down."

More talking, and Tundra had to shout to settled them again.

"Yes, I did have that adventure, although the stories you are passing around are probably a lot taller than what I went through. But I did what I set out to do. And I found that I'm not the same mink that I was when I left. But I tried to be, and I was unhappy. I realized that I was just as unhappy as before I went on my adventure.

"And I knew that I could never be happy with the path that was laid out for me."

Tundra expected more talking, but there was only an uncomfortable silence. Hundreds of eyes locked onto her as they expected more from her.

"I should have had the confidence to tell everyone sooner, but part of me thought that if I did what everyone expected of me, then I would eventually be happy. But everything just became a jumble of chaos, and I just couldn't go on.

"I'm sorry everyone that I can't be who you expect me to be, but I just know that I'm meant for other things. I have a different path that I have to choose for myself. I don't think we should leave our whole lives to chance or letting others plan it for us. If we all did that, nobody would be happy."

Tundra closed her mouth, her brain no longer feeding her words to say. She was done.

The clearing remained quiet until a loud, female voice called out, "You go, girl." Ellie whistled and waved her trunk as she smiled at Tundra. Some of the minks closest to Ellie glared at the mammoth.

Frost, from where she stood, started clapping. Only two others joined her, and Tundra had to look twice. What she took as two very ugly female minks turned out to be Eddie and Crash. She had to try very hard to keep a straight face and not cry out what they were doing dressed up like that.

However, the clapping slowly died down when nobody else joined in.

Tundra turned to look at her mother, waiting to see what the older mink would say about her speech. But not a word was spoken; the two just starred at each other as if waiting for the other to speak first.

"Mother. . ." Tundra whispered. "I'm sorry. I know you were trying to do what's best for me, but it's not what I want."

Tundra's mother's mouth moved as if she was dry, and took a step forward. Just as her mouth opened, a wolf's howl reverberated throughout the glade.

* * *

><p>Before any mammal could react, another howl came from a different direction. Then a saber's roar from another direction. Everyone looked around frantically, but the fog hid the world from the glade. A few minks screamed, and everyone was on their feet, ready to run away. But there seemed to be nowhere to run, and by now, more howls and roars were coming from everywhere, nobody knew where to run.<p>

Ellie and Manny had pulled Peaches close to them, and Diego was on his feet in a defensive position. Eddie and Crash jumped onto Peaches, reassuring her that she'll be fine, and Sid tried to look fierce unsuccessfully. The minks, with some instructions from the older generations, formed a tight ball in the middle of the clearing.

"Get to the trees," a few of them shouted, and many complied.

A handful made it to safety before the wolves and sabers pounced out from behind trees and started herding the minks together. It wasn't long after that that the ice ship slid into the glade out of the fog slowly, like an ominous iceberg.

All of this happened so quickly, nobody had time to react.

Manny looked around, and saw that they were entirely surrounded on all sides. There was no escape. Even a mammoth couldn't fight off that many predators, and the ice ship stood twice his height. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what the situation was, and he came to the only conclusion.

Ice pirates.

He'd heard stories, but never had he run into any of them. What he knew of ice pirates was that they preferred to stay on the icy tundras up north and pressed mammals and birds into their crew. They also stole food and supplies from some animals, but mainly from the humans.

From the top of the ice ship a web of vines was thrown overboard and dozens of mammals crawled down. They all had knives and weapons made of rock, bone or ice in their paws or teeth. A large flock of birds circled overhead, cawing and squawking foreboding sounds.

Manny told Ellie to take Peaches into the middle of the group while he swiped at a few wolves that were getting too close. The group of mammals that had come off the ship were getting closer, and at the head of them was the biggest pack rat anyone had ever seen. Both Manny and Diego stepped forward to meet the rat.

"I take it that you're the leader of this circus," Manny guessed menacingly at the small mammal.

"Aye. The name is Cap'n Red Claw, an' these are the crew of the ice-ship, The Blight," Red Claw called out, his mouth wide open to show his long sharp teeth.

"What is it you want?"

"A mammal that gets t' the point," Red Claw said with a laugh. "I like you."

"I don't like you. Or your little pets over there," Manny said, and gestured to the wolves and sabers. "Call them off before someone gets hurt."

"That 'someone' isn't going t' be the one you think it will," Red Claw said with a wild smile.

Manny couldn't help but compare this brazen rodent with a certain weasel. He didn't even come up to Manny's knee, and the rat thought he could terrorize a mammoth. "Again, what do you want? I don't take kindly to anyone who scares my family."

The pack rat started sharpening his claws against his stone knife, and the sound rattled most of the minks, and they cringed closer together. "Oh, I'm looking for an old ship-mate of mine. I heard he was in the area. He's a spotted weasel called Buck."

"Buck?"

"He's looking for Buck."

"Buck knows these guys."

The pack of minks as well as Manny's herd all contributed to the bustle of noise.

"Oh, so you do know him," Red Claw said with an evil gleam. "Where is he?"

There were so many minks pointing in so many directions, it was starting to look very bad for all of them. Red Claw was frowning at the spectacle, thinking that the minks were trying to hid his location by being very vague. If only he knew that all the minks were earnestly trying to help him, so he'd go away.

Red Claw scraped harshly against his stone knife, the sharp noise causing some to clamp paws over ears. "You aren't makin' this easier on yourselves. If I don't get wha' I want, then I might have my crew introduce themselves to you."

At that, the other mammals looked as ferocious as possible. They growled, showed teeth and licked at their weapons hungrily. The wolves and sabers drooled as if on command, although nobody could tell if this was true.

"Stop. Leave them alone," a female voice shouted above the crew. "They don't know anything about Buck."

Tundra was at the front of the mink crowd. Just like Manny and Diego, she was quick to react to danger. She had moved her mother and cousin into the group, and kept most of them from doing anything stupid. Now she walked forward until she was right by Manny's ankle.

"And who are ye?" Red Claw asked, his tone half a threat, half of it sounded interested in what she had to say.

"My name is Tundra, and I know where Buck is," Tundra told the pack rat.

"Where? Tell me, or I'll gut ya," the pack rat said as he thrust his knife at Tundra, missing her head save for a whisker. He smiled as she flinched at his swipe.

"I will, when you let everyone go," Tundra said, her voice steady.

"Sure, we'll let them go," Captain Red Claw said, his nose twitching with excitement. "Just tell me where Buck is."

"No, let them go first."

"I don't negotiate like that, lass. Now tell me where he is, or you can say good-bye t' one o' your mates." With a nod from the Captain, one of the badgers grabbed the closest mink, and held his bone-dagger at the mink's belly. "You have five seconds lass."

"He went home," Tundra quickly said, her breath coming quickly. "He went home this morning. He's not here anymore."

"An' where is home?" Red Claw said, leaning forward until he was nose to nose with Tundra.

Tundra swallowed before answering. "Beneath the ice," she said, hoping that they'd believe her. After all, the truth sounded weirder than fiction.

After a few seconds, Red Claw grabbed Tundra hard with his paw, his claws sinking into her flesh and drawing blood. "If you were gonna t' lie t' me, lass, you should have chose a more believable lie."

"It's the truth," Manny said, not daring to help Tundra. "He lives below the ice. I've seen it."

"So, if I don't believe one liar, maybe two, eh?" Red Claw said with a growl. He looked at his crew, and then at the crowd. "Have fun boys," he told them with a laugh.

"No!" Manny shouted, putting his large body between the minks and his family, and the crew.

"Wait a minute," Tundra shouted, and tried to wrench free of Red Claw. But the rat's curved claws shredded her flesh, and blood soaked into her fur. "Please, believe me. If you won't believe me, then take me and leave everyone alone."

Red Claw, his eyes glowing with a crazed blood-lust. "And wha' are you that think you can be a bargainin' chip? Wha' makes you so confident?"

"Because you want Buck, and if you take me he'll come to you," Tundra said while looking the Captain in the eye.

"For you?" Red Claw asked with a chuckle. "Has Buck grown so soft that he associates wit' minks?"

"No, but I spent time with him," Tundra said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible. "He'll come for me because I'm in love with him."

That cause Red Claw to pause in his gloating, and he studied the mink intently. "I believe you," he whispered in a gruff voice. Then he chuckled rasping. "Imagine. Buck and a mink. Well, it seems that we do have a bargain." The pack rat laughed loudly, and his crew followed in an uproar.

Tundra let out a sigh of relief. While most of what she said was true, there was a string of falseness to it. She was letting them believe that Buck would come for her. But he wouldn't. He was going home, and wouldn't ever come back. He would be safe.

"Pack up boys, an' leave these good mammals t' their evenin'," Red Claw said. He looked to the north. "We have a storm coming up, and must be on our way." He handed the bleeding Tundra to a few shipmates, who tied her paws together and started carrying her up the vine ladder to the ship.

As if they were a colony of ants, the whole crew went about their business to prepare to leave. The mammals riding the sabers and wolves took their mounts to the stern of the ship to hook them up. The stern was the same shape as the bow, which made the ship reversible which was beneficial for occasions like now when they couldn't go forward or turn the ship around.

"Sorry to intrude, but we'll be leavin'," Red Claw said as he bowed to Manny and the minks. He eyed Manny, who was glaring down at the tiny mammal. "I would have liked t' have been only a shadow t' you folk, but you look far too dangerous t' leave behind without some insurance."

Before anyone could react, two large net was thrown out into the crowd. One was thrown with pinpoint accuracy and with such speed, Ellie and Manny could only watch helplessly as Peaches was pulled up into the net and swung from the mast as she trumpeted in fear with Eddie and Crash screaming along. The second next was sent into the crowd, hauling in a half dozen minks and one scared beaver carrying a pineapple.

The two mammoth parents called out in fear and anger, but all the ice pirates were already in the ship.

"When you see Buck, tell him he can find us at the Rhino's Nostril, if he wants his pretty mate back. An' don't think of followin' mammoth, or I might make you childless," Red Claw called out with a fit of laughter as the team of wolves and sabers pulled the ice-ship into the fog. "When I get wha' I want, I'll let the hostages go. . . maybe. My wolves an' sabers get very hungry." Red Claw grinned devilishly as he and his ship disappeared into the fog. A flurry of snowflakes danced in his wake; the beginning of the storm just arriving.

Everyone in the glade watched it go, nobody able to move from the shock of the appearance of the pirates. Manny made a move to go after it, but Diego stopped him.

"We can't," the saber said in his deep growl. "We need a plan before going after them. And perhaps wait until the weather lets up."

"No, I won't wait that long," Manny said, glaring down at Diego. Then he lifted his eyes up, and looked into the forest. "What we need is Buck."

* * *

><p>It was a combination of not knowing where he was and the fog that kept Buck from going where he wanted to go. He was so disoriented that he worked up a sweat just trying to find the right direction. Finally, he was able to find his old tracks, and backtracked to Dr. Honeybee's den before rushing to the glade. By that time the sun was almost down, the wind had picked up and it was starting to snow. When he reached the glade, he could tell something big had happened.<p>

The smell of wolves and sabers were strong, as well as the sharp tinge of fear. But to his relief, he smelled no blood.

Staggering into the glade, he weaved through the minks that were looking around numbly or in a trance. A few of them seemed to recognize him, and whispered his name. As he came closer, the two mammoths at the far end of the glade heard his name, and turned around.

"Buck!" Ellie called out, and rushed to him.

"What happene-"

Ellie snatched him up with her trunk before he could finish his sentence. "They took my baby!" she shouted at him, her voice that of a desperate mother. "They took Peaches!"

Buck didn't need to ask who. However, his mind was still on one thing. "Tundra?"

"They took her!" Ellie said and started to weep. As if her energy was fading, she slowly lowered Buck to the ground.

"Where did they go?" Buck asked.

"Somewhere called the Rhino's Nostril," Diego said as he padded up to Buck. He put a paw on Ellie's trunk to comfort the female mammoth. "They took Peaches, Eddie and Crash as well as Tundra."

"They took Tundra?" Buck repeated and shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, it does," Manny said, his voice full of hatred. "She went with them because you weren't here. This is all your fault." He slammed his foot into the ground close to Buck, and every mammal in the glade could feel the tremor. "They were after you. And because you weren't here, they took prisoners."

"Prisoners make sense," Buck told himself more than the others.

"Who are they, Buck? Why did they attack us?" Diego asked. He was more calculating than the rest of his friends, and preferred to get all the information he could before planning an attack.

Buck looked at the deep gash the ice ship made and a spot of red that stained the snow. Instinctual told him it was Tundra's, and that cut him deeper than the mink's wounds. He looked at the minks that were gathering around him, the mammoths, saber and sloth.

"They are my past. And it seems I can no longer run from them," Buck said, his voice far more sane than anyone had heard in years.

* * *

><p>End of chapter 11<p>

Me: I've had a lot of people say they missed the silly stuff I would add at the end of the chapter, so that's coming back.

But first, I'd like to thank everyone for all their comments. Last chapter I received more comments than any other chapter, and they were all excellent. I also got a lot of questions from the readers, so we'll answer those.

A guest asked the question, "If frost has white hair and she is tundra's cousin, then how come tundra doesn't have the same fur colour either?" This is easy to explain. Unlike rabbits and a few other mammals, minks don't turn white in the winter. So Frost was born white, and will remain white all her life. I could have made her an albino, but that usually means she would have red eyes. So, instead, this is what I figure: Tundra's father is reddish-brown and passed his coloring to Tundra. Tundra's mother is a regular brown. Frost's mother and Tundra's mother are sisters, and their coloring is pretty close to each other. So that would mean Frost's father would have had to been white.

I hope that clears that up.

One of my readers, CC333, asks Frost this question, "Hey Frost, did ja like kissing Rocky? ;) heheh" Frost, do you want to take this one?

Frost: What? What do you mean kissing Rocky?! I didn't. . .did I?. . . Oh, I think I'm going to be sick (runs away.)

Me: (clears throat) Er. . .let's go to the next question. KaylaDestroy (who by the way has been reading my fanfic since the beginning and leaves absolutely fantastic reviews) asked a lot of questions. Her first one is "Will Glacier overthrow Captain Red Claw?" Glacier?

Glacier: Overthrow Captain Red Claw? Me?. . .(Points at himself innocently) Hmmm. . .Captain Glacier. It does have a nice ring to it. . .Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaa! (composes himself) I mean, I'm not telling you.

Me: Tee hee, silly Glacier. Next question: "Will Buck ever give up his deranged fantasies and dump the pineapple for good?"

Buck: Nooooooo, my love. I will never leave you my sweet tropical love (goes off to make out with fruit)

Me: Sorry Kayla, but those questions are spoilers, and you'll have to wait for the ending like everyone else. The next questions are: "Will Tundra ever grow a backbone and admit her love for Buck? Will she ever get out of her arranged marriage to Rocky?" I think these questions are obvious after this chapter. While I'm glad Tundra is now bold and admits she loves Buck, the problem still is that she hasn't admitted her love TO Buck.

Tundra: Yeah, I gotta work on that. XD

Me: Next question: "Will the rest of her mink family ever stop with their pompous, prissy ways?" The answer to this is no. No, they will not. Next question:

Sid: Oh, can I read it? I didn't get many lines in this story.

Me: Okay, fine. Here.

Sid: Okay, last question: "Will Diego ever make another appearance in this story?" Well, he was in this chapter, wasn't he? Why doesn't anyone ask about Sid the Sloth. Always Diego this, and Diego that. You'd think he was some sort of anti-hero or something that the girls go ga-ga for.

Me: Mmmm, Diego. But for you Diego fans, he will have a larger role in the next chapter of the story.

Now, I have a few questions for my fans. First off, I still haven't decided if I want to write a sequel or not. I know most of you are saying, "Do it! Do it!". But I'd like to hear your opinion of a few ideas I have for it, and see if you are intrigued by it.

As some of you know, I didn't like Ice Age 4. (Why and because look at chapter 10 notes) But I really liked Shira's character and part of her background. I would have like more Shira/Diego chemistry, but I felt it was force. So if I wrote a sequel to Love Makes You Crazy, I'd like to put Shira in it, as well as some Ice Pirates going down below the ice where Buck lives. Shira will be part of a pirate ship as one of the sabers pulling the ship, and thus explains why she is there. She will not be first mate, or even high on the totem pole.

Is this something you'd guys like to see, or is it something I should toss out? I'd like to know.

Finally, we're going to have Captain Red Claw give the teaser for the next chapter. Take it away Captain.

Captain Red Claw: Yar, it will be my pleasure, missy. But first, I have a joke for yer audience.

Me: Oooookay. . . Let's hear it.

Captain Red Claw: What is a pirate's favorite fast food restaurant? (Pause for effect) AR-by's . Ya hahahahaha ha!

Me: . . . You're fired.

Captain Red Claw: What?! You can't do this to me.

Me: Manny? If you please.

Manny: With pleasure (Picks up the pack rat and throws him as far as you can.

Me: Okay, then we'll have Glacier read the teaser.

Glacier: If that is your wish. (Takes paper and reads in a very spooky and chilling voice) What will happen to the ice age heroes? Will the pirates get away with their dastardly deeds? Will they fulfill their threats, and kill the hostages? Will Buck realize that someone else is in love with his tropical fruit wife? Will the pirates raise Peaches as their own and teach her to be a ruthless pirate? Or will she become a ballet dancer like she's always wanted? Will someone finally marry Rocky? Or will he live his entire life as a bachelor: alone? Will Diego finally sell that screenplay he's written since kitten-hood? All these questions and much more are going through your minds right now, but mostly likely not on the next chapter of Love Makes You Crazy.

There how was that?

Me: That was the creepiest thing ever. You are not to do that again.

Glacier: Then I have attained my goal.

Me: (shivers) Well, thanks everyone. Don't forget to review. Please tell me what you like about the story, what you think of my idea for a sequel, and any questions you have for me or any character in the story. So, see you next chapter! Love you all.


	12. Chapter 12: Professional Pirates

(Author's notes: Last chapter, I neglected to add Buck's accent. That has been fixed. Enjoy the chapter.)

When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation  
>My father said "Now son, this choice deserves deliberation<br>Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier  
>My boy why not consider a more challenging career<br>Hey ho ho  
>You'll cruise to foreign shores<br>And you'll keep your mind and body sound  
>By working out of doors<br>True friendship and adventure are what we can't live without  
>And when you're a professional pirate<br>That's what the job's about

_"Upstage, lads, this is my ONLY number!"_

Now take Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish all despise him  
>But to the British he's a hero and they idolize him<br>It's how you look at buccaneers that makes them bad or good  
>And I see us as members of a noble brotherhood<br>Hey ho ho  
>We're honorable men<br>And before we lose our tempers we will always count to ten  
>On occasion there may be someone you have to execute<br>But when your a professional pirate  
>You don't have to wear a suit... what?<p>

I could have been a surgeon  
>I like taking things apart<br>I could have been a lawyer  
>But I just had too much heart<br>I could have been in politics  
>Cause I've always been a big spender<br>And me...I could have been a contender

Some say that pirates steal and should be feared and hated  
>I say we're victims of bad press it's all exaggerated<br>We'd never stab you in the back, we'd never lie or cheat  
>We're just about the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet<p>

Hey ho ho  
>It's one for all for one<br>And we'll share and share alike with you and love you like a son  
>We're gentlemen of fortune and that's what we're proud to be<br>And when your a professional pirate  
>You'll be honest brave and free<br>The soul of decency  
>You'll be loyal and fair and on the square<br>And most importantly

When you're a professional pirate  
>You're always in the best of company<p>

- "Professional Pirate" from the motion picture _Muppet Treasure Island_

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 12: Professional Pirates

By Hatashi Kitty aka Emilou

Most of the minks were in shock. Those that had escaped the chaotic ambush by climbing up trees came shakily down and mingled with the larger group. After a while, many were calling out family and friends' names, making sure that they were okay. A few who realized their loved ones had been captured by the pirates and had mourned for their loss.

Manny comforted Ellie as they thought of their missing daughter, tears falling from both their eyes as well as from their sloth friend. Diego paced impatiently, growling wordlessly at the ground.

"Buck, what do you know of these pirates?" Manny demanded of the weasel that stood quietly close-by.

Buck didn't answer. He could only stare at a few droplets of blood that had fallen to the snow. They had formed two holes as the warn liquid melted the ice and then froze again. He couldn't seem to take his eyes away from the red stains.

"Buck, are you listening?!" Manny shouted, pushing softly against the weasel with his trunk. "We have to get Peaches back. And I need your help."

"Say wha?" Buck muttered, and shook his head. Looking around, it was as if he finally saw what had happened moments ago. "Yes, we need t' get them back. Wha' was their heading?"

By now the storm was making itself known. Snow was coming down in big wet flakes, and the wind was pushing everyone around.

"They went that way, but I couldn't tell if they continued in that direction," Diego answered, still pacing energetically. "And with this storm, I don't think I can track them for long."

"Then we should head out as soon as we can. It should just be Diego, Buck and me," Manny ordered, taking charge of the situation.

"Nuh-uh, you aren't going anywhere without me," Ellie said, her eyes still filled with tears. "I'm going to get my baby back."

"And me too," Sid pipped up.

"Oh, no you two aren't. We'll travel faster with fewer of us," Manny told his wife sternly.

Ellie gave her husband a look that said he couldn't tell her what to do. "I can run just as fast and as long as you can. And I can even carry Sid while doing it."

"Yeah, come on, Manny. We've been through a lot together," Sid told his big friend. "You'll need us to help fight off the pirates."

"We're not going to fight pirates. We'll find away to sneak Peaches and the other hostages away. There will be no fighting," Manny told them all. Then he turned to his wife, his expression softening. "I would feel better if you stayed here, where I know you'll be safe. Please?"

"And I would feel better knowing you're safe as well," Ellie said, stroking her husband's trunk with her own. "And the only way I can do that is keeping you in sight. I'm going. End of discussion."

Manny sighed, knowing he was beat. "Fine. But we need to move out now. The longer we can track them, the sooner we can catch up to them."

"You'll never catch up t' them," Buck growled at Manny, his face darker than anyone else had seen. "Ice ships cut through snow like it was meltin'. Bein' pulled by saber an' wolf power, they'll be travelin' hard an' fast. An' as you said, trackin' is impossible. Red Claw knows of dozens o' hideouts in this area, so I doubt we'll find him."

Diego's ears perked up. "I just remembered. That packrat said something about where he'll be. He wants Buck to find him. He wanted Buck to come alone."

At this Buck stood up straight, his one eye opened as wide as it could get. He rushed to Diego and demanded, "Wha' did he say? Where did tha' bloody mammal say he'll be?"

Diego took a step back at Buck's enthusiasm. "He said something about a rhino's nostril. It didn't make sense."

Buck grinned. "It does t' me. I know where he is."

"Great. Get on board and we'll all be on our way," Manny said hurriedly, gesturing with his trunk.

"But I need t' go alone," Buck said seriously. He pulled out his knife, and checked the sharpness of Rudy's tooth. "Red Claw an' I, we have much t' discuss."

"I don't care if that rat wanted fifty weasels to come in dresses," Manny said irritatedly. "We're all going, and no more arguing. We'll come up with a plan on the way. Now, which way are we going."

Buck smiled recklessly. "Alrighty, mammals. Let's be on our way."

"You'll bring back my Tundra," a female voice called out from nearby. "You'll bring back my baby, won't you."

Buck turned around and recognized Tundra's mother coming toward him, along with her paternal grandparents.

"I'll do my best t' get her back," Buck told the worried mink, patting her paw comfortingly. "You have my word on it."

"And we'll make sure you do it," Tundra's grandfather said in a gruff voice, his wife on his arm.

Manny groaned, and said something under his breath about having even more baggage to carry around.

Tundra's mother put her arm around her father-in-law's shoulders. "Father, I don't think that's a good idea. We should let Mr. Buck go, so he can save Tundra," she tried to discourage the older mink in his resolve.

"You think that because we're old, we don't have any more pep in us," Tundra's grandmother admonished her daughter-in-law. "But we have just as much to contribute to this mission as that overgrown pussy-cat over there." Tundra's grandmother poked her finger at Diego's nose.

"Pussy-cat?" Diego growled at the elderly mink, who only glared at him.

"And I don't trust this weasel," Tundra's grandfather. "I can't miss my guess, but I'd say he's a pirate as well."

At this declaration, Buck grew even more serious, and stood tall, his long form a head higher than the minks. "Right ya are, mate," Buck said with a nod of a head. "Or at least I was one."

"Sounds like you have a lot of explaining to do," Tundra's grandfather said gruffly. "And you can tell us on the way. We need to move out now."

"Fine, just get aboard," Manny ordered roughly. He picked up the two elderly minks, and dropped them in the thick hair on his back. "You too, Buck. Ellie, grab Sid."

The spotted weasel quickly scaled Manny's side as the female mammoth lifted Sid onto her back.

"Anyone else coming. . .Good," Manny said quickly. "Diego, start tracking."

The saber-toothed feline sprang forward, his nervous energy feeding into his muscles. The two mammoths followed after, their passengers hunkering down as the wind blew against them stronger.

"Trackin's not gonna do any good," Buck shouted above the storm. "They have t' avoid obstacles that we can just go over."

"Then where are we going?" Diego shouted back.

"Head north by northeast. T'ward the Catscratch Mountains. Do you know where Antelope Falls is?"

"I did, but it's been a while. But I think I can find it," Diego yelled. Digging his claws into the snow, he increased his speed. The large cat heard the mammoths match his pace, but he knew that they wouldn't be able to hold it for long. And Antelope falls was a long ways away.

* * *

><p>The ship didn't list side to side as Tundra thought it would. Of course she was thinking of the sea minks, who did ride on the ocean's waves and were rocked incessantly by the currently. But ice ships were a whole other matter, Tundra realized, after being on one for a few hours. But she didn't have much time to take note or even image what pirate life was like.<p>

There were others that needed her.

If it was only her on board, Tundra wouldn't have felt as much fear as she was experiencing. But she was surrounded by a dozen of her relatives and other minks that were at her wedding. They were huddling against each other, keeping as far away from the pirates as possible. Some were moaning, some were crying, and others were sitting in fetal positions while staring at nothing. Tundra wondered if she looked very similar when she fell through the ice.

And then there was Peaches. Even as a baby, the mammoth was large and dangerous in such a small space. She squealed and cried out in fear, calling for her mother, big tears in her eyes. And she had no one that was familiar to her except for her two witless uncles, who were too excited about being on a real pirate ship to help calm their frightened niece.

It took everything Tundra had to keep the minks and the young mammoth from panicking to a point that Peaches would trample everyone. She soothed the mammoth with calm words, patting the small trunk much like she'd seen Ellie do. She talked slowly to the minks, explaining what they would do, and what they wouldn't do, telling them that if they stayed calm then they would make it back to their families. Tundra knew she was making empty promises, but it was the only thing keeping everyone together.

But most of all, she had to keep herself calm. She had run a few scenarios in her mind, and the most common one was this: The Captain would have his crew bring her to him. He would demand answers about Buck from her. And she'd tell the truth. She'd tell him that Buck didn't love her. That he was gone forever. She'd tell the captain that all his captives were for nothing. Buck wasn't coming. And then she'd beg for the lives of her family and friends. She'd convince that the closest thing he'd have for revenge against Buck was to take her life, because they were friends. They were close and it would still hurt him. And then she'd die.

And she knew this last part would happen in every scenario. She was dead and walking around. And because of this knowledge, she had to keep going. She had to keep calming everyone down, reassuring them they were going to be okay. Because she knew that she wasn't going to be okay, and it was the only thing keeping herself calm.

That, and knowing that Buck was safe. He would be ignorant of the pirates, and never come after them.

The group was kept below the deck, in a large area that looked like the area the crew slept. There were leaves and twigs everywhere, in piles as if animals had slept in them. They were away from the wind and snow, but they could still tell that the storm was picking up. After a while, it turned to hale, the large projectiles of ice making strange noises against the ship.

After a while, some pirates came down, and told the guards that the captain wanted all the prisoners in his cabin, save for the mammoth.

"You can't leave her alone. She's just a baby, and she's scared," Tundra argued, glaring at the guards.

"Yeah, we'll take care of her," Eddie jumped in, Crash beside him. "She's our niece."

The guard leered at Eddie. "The Captain said _everyone_. Especially the females."

That's when Tundra, Eddie and Crash remembered that the opossums were still wearing their disguises. But before any one of the three could correct the error, they were prodded by spears and knifes up to the deck.

Peaches scrambled to follow the only familiar mammals in the vicinity, but she was stopped by the same sharp instruments. She trumpeted frantically, and continued to do so even as the prisoners were taken out of sight.

"Keep together everyone," Tundra instructed, helping those still in shock. The guards didn't try to stop her as she shifted from one figure to another, keeping spirits up and speaking encouraging words.

The guards, even if their words weren't needed, barked orders at the prisoners to keep moving.

"Wha' do you have there?" one pirate demanded, roughly handling one of the prisoners.

"Hey, leave him alone," Tundra ordered, pushing the pirate away. "We're going. Isn't that enough?"

"But he's got somethin'. An' I want to see," the pirate said threateningly. The pirate was a mean looking wild-cat, with one-yellow eye glaring at the prisoners. A rough patch of vines and old hide was covering his left eye. One ear looked to be almost bitten off and his hind leg was twisted which made it difficult for the cat to walk.

Tundra looked back at the prisoner, and was surprised to see who it was. Dr. Yew cowered at the over-shadowing pirates, clinging to the tropical fruit that he had brought to her wedding. It was an unbelievable coincidence, and Tundra wondered how she missed seeing the pair back in the holding cells. The young mink gritted her teeth, feeling her plans dropping out from under her.

Buck wouldn't go home without his wife. He'd come looking for her, and fall into the trap.

Enraged by this fact, Tundra turned on the pirate. "Leave him alone. What he has doesn't concern you," she told the pirate.

"I think it does," the wild-cat said, licking his knife.

With a speed she had learned by running away from creatures thousands of times larger than her, she leaped at the pirate, knocking him onto his back. She could tell that the pirate crew was surprised as they saw that she held her stone knife to the pirate's throat. She was sure they didn't see her pull it out.

"I suggest you forget he is holding anything," Tundra said to the wild-cat dangerously. "After all, you wouldn't want to prevent any of us from going to your captain."

The pirate tried to fight Tundra off. After all, she is only a female mink. He had no idea who he was dealing with. However, as he tried to disarm Tundra, she swiveled her body around to use it as a lever against her opponent. Within seconds, the pirate found himself face down on the icy deck, one front paw twisted sharply against his back, and Tundra's knife pressed tighter against his neck.

"Okay! Okay! I didn't see anythin'," the wild-cat yowled in pain. When he was let up, he moved into a defensive crouch, rubbing his paw. A heat surrounded his face as he realized his fellow pirates were laughing at him. "Keep movin'," the pirate growled angrily, trying to win back some of his toughness by making the minks move.

Tundra allowed herself to be herded with the others, now that the pirates knew that she wouldn't tolerate too much roughness to her family.

The captain's cabin was at the rear of the ship, opposite of where the holding cells were. The wind and snow were now a full blown blizzard, and it even made it hard to see or move on the ship. Minks huddled together as they moved, shivering even under their winter coats. Tundra was even more cold with only her summer coat, but she didn't show it. She didn't want to show any weakness to these cold-hearted pirates.

Once the minks knew they were being put somewhere away from the weather, they readily went into the captain's cabin. Tundra was the last to go in, making sure nobody was left behind or bothered any more. When she was shoved in, and a wooden door was shut tightly against the ice, she moved to the front of the group, knowing that the others were in no position to talk to the captain.

Captain Red Claw. He was a piece of work. Tundra shivered as the packrat watched them with his gleaming eyes as the filed in, using a stone to sharpen his claws. Every time he raked his claws against the stone, all the minks cringed at the noise, and he smiled gleefully.

By his side, Glacier stood as still as the eye of a hurricane. He didn't even seem to be watching the minks come in, but seemed to be looking at something beyond them. His gaze was unnerving, and the minks huddled in a corner to avoid both the ferret and the pack rat.

Tundra stood in between the pirates and their captives, her hands on her hips. "What do you want now?" she asked the captain boldly.

"Cheeky wench," Red Claw said with a toothy smile. "Now I can see why Buck fancies you."

Tundra's heart wrenched at that. It hurt to know that it wasn't true, but now was not the time to admit it. If the captain knew the truth, he might just turn this ship around until he found Buck, even if it meant ripping apart any animal that stood in his way.

Red Claw walked to Tundra until he was right in front of her. Bulky and large, he was the complete opposite of the mink and weasel body shape. He barely made it to Tundra's chest, and she wondered how such a short animal could be so vicious and feared. But she also had to take in account that he probably weighed much more than she did, and, pound for pound, had more blood lust and violence instinct than she did.

To her disgust, he grabbed her chin with his paws, his sharp nails resting on her flesh without piercing it. But it wouldn't take much for him to draw blood. He pulled her face closer to his, causing Tundra to hold her breath so she wouldn't have to smell his putrid stench.

"Pretty lil' thing, she is," Red Claw said, his whiskers brushing against hers. They rubbed as he talked. "Pretty isn't exactly Buck's type, but there's more than enough spice in her t' make up for that."

Tundra wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or Glacier. She didn't fight his touch, but she didn't hide her dislike of his handling her.

"She might make a wonderful bargaining chip t' the sabers o' Glacier Pass. We'll need t' pay them when we cross next time. It's been a while since we went north," Captain Red Claw laughed, and looked at Glacier.

"She's a little puny for that," Glacier said at last. "They do like mink, but she isn't fat enough."

"Well, we do have enough fat minks t' go 'round," Red Claw chuckled, and pointed a sharp claw at the huddled mass. "That's enough t' pay the pack off for a whole season."

Tundra had enough. She pushed the captain's paw away from her face. "What do you mean? I thought we were bait for Buck."

"Oh you are, but once Buck is gone, then we don't have much more use of you," Red Claw said with a careless shrug. "I guess we could let all o' you go, but that would be such a waste."

The minks in the corner started to panic, some even crying out loud.

"What about the mammoth? I thought you were going to use her," one said in desperation.

Tundra wished she knew which one said that, because she wanted to punch him in the face.

Red Claw laughed. "I have t' feed my crew somehow."

And that's when Tundra knew that the pirates had no intentions of letting any of them live.

"No, you can't do that to us. You said we were just hostages," another mink cried out.

Red Claw started to threaten the whole group, making them cower even more, when Glacier stopped him.

"We are a bit under pawed," the ferret said in an almost bored tone. "We could see if any of them would be good crew members."

Red Claw scratched his chin with his claws, and pulled away a flee. He examined the parasite before crushing it. "I suppose you are right. Then call for Mister Crowleg. He'll get these maggots t' work, an' we'll see if any are descendant t' the legendary sea minks."

Glacier left quickly.

Red Claw grabbed Tundra's forepaw, and pulled her toward him. "An' you better make sure they all work. Because those who don't pull their weight is tomorrow's breakfast."

For a moment, Tundra was afraid as she was forced to look Red Claw in the eyes. She couldn't see her reflection, and that frightened her. But she was snapped out of her fear as an echo of Rudy's road and Buck's wild whooping brought courage to her heart, and she snatched her paw back.

"We'll work," she told him angrily. "But if even one of your hostages are hurt, I swear I won't leave a piece of you for Buck when he comes."

Tundra hadn't seen a stunned pack rat before now, and found Red Claw to look utterly ridiculous when he didn't look threatening. However, Red Claw laughed callously, and his dangerous aura was back.

"What a lass you are. I agree t' such terms," Red Claw said with a grin so similar to Buck's. "I figure I'll get twice the work from you as the whole lot o' them. They'll work until they can't anymore, but the whole lot o' you goes t' the sabers an' dogs if **you** stop working."

The storm sounded as if it were getting worse, and Tundra knew that in a few hours, it would get below freezing. She didn't know how far they were going or how long the blizzard would be, but she had a hunch that it wouldn't be close.

"I'll hold you to your word," Tundra told him. "And if you're a true pirate, your word is the most valuable thing on this stinkin' ship."

Captain Red Claw laughed at that. He liked her.

Glacier and Mister Crowleg (who happened to be the wild-cat that Tundra tusseled with earlier) came in to gather the group to put them to work, and at the front was Tundra making sure that her family and friends were reassured that everything will be fine.

But Tundra knew that things were looking worse. Even though she had Red Claw's word, she still didn't trust him. And during the first sign of trouble, their throats could be cut. Even the first sign of Buck could mean their death, since their purpose would be over. The only thing Tundra could do was to keep her end of the deal with Red Claw, and escape the first chance that opened up.

* * *

><p>Even though Buck insisted they didn't need to track the ship, Diego still tried in case they could catch up to it. It didn't take Diego long before he lost the trail, which surprised the saber-toothed tiger. The ice ship left a deep trench in the snow that it wasn't hard to follow. He wondered how the storm covered it so quickly, until Buck explained that once at full speed, the ship wouldn't have left as deep of tracks as it did while slow.<p>

After that, both Diego and Buck had to guess what direction they were since one could easily be turned around in a blizzard. Without sun, moon or stars, they could be heading in any direction, which was proven when they came across a river that showed they were going in the wrong direction. Without any other choice, the two mammoths, two minks, sloth, weasel and tiger had to take shelter until the storm had blown over.

They would have liked to find a cave, which would protect them on all sides, but after some searching, they had to settle for a rocky over-hang that kept out most of the wind and snow. Plus it was the only thing large enough to shelter the two mammoths.

Once they had settled down in the snow, Sid tried to built a fire with a few sticks he gathered. He found the right kind of rocks to start it, and organized everything in a pile. Even with the right ingredients, he couldn't start one.

"Stop it, Sid. It's not a good time for a fire," Manny said moodily. "There's too much wind, and the wood is too wet."

Sid glared at his materials. "I'm not going to give up. Fire is the only thing that'll save us."

Manny lowered his eyelids. "We're all covered with fur. We've survived without fire for years before we met you, oh Fire Lord."

"The smelly sloth is right, mate," Buck jumped in quickly. "Nobody should give up on their dreams. If he wants t' build a fire, then I'm going t' help him."

"Oh boy," Manny said as he rolled his eyes.

Buck set about to helping Sid. "Mammoths, lay down up wind of the fire. You could block the wind."

"Are you calling them fat?" Sid defended his friends. "Because Manny insists that he's 'puffy'."

"He's a mammoth. They're all fat," Buck insisted as he watched Manny and Ellie settled down where he directed. He then examined the wood that Sid had collected, and started shifting out the driest pieces. "An' now we need somethin' t' start her up."

Before anyone could blink, Buck had rushed at Manny and sliced away a pawful of fur right under his chin. The action caused the mammoth to trumpet in surprise, and he tried to scramble away. Once he realized what Buck had done, he glared down at the small mammal.

"Okay, sloth. Have at it," Buck acknowledged as he put the dry mammoth fur in the middle of the slightly dry twigs.

Sid scraped his rocks together. Sparks leaped at the fur and twigs. At first nothing happened, then fire appeared and hungrily ate at the fur. It left a nasty smell in the air, but it did the trick. Soon, the fire was eating at the twigs, snapping loudly in protest for the dampness. Sid put the rest of his kindling near the fire so that it'll dry out faster.

"Gee, you seem to know a lot about fire," Sid commented as he sat down to warm his claws.

"You aren't the first mammal t' find out about flint," Buck said with a grin as he helped Tundra's grandparents off Ellie's shoulder so they could get warm by the fire. "Pirates have been makin' fires for years now."

Manny touched Ellie's trunk with her own, but his wife didn't respond. She seemed to be almost traumatized as she lay in the snow. He knew his wife's own thoughts. She would rather be out in the storm, pressing on until she found her baby. Manny had the same feelings, but he knew that if they did, they could very well fall down a glacier or into a frozen lake. Then they wouldn't be able to save Peaches. It took all his patience to stay where he was, and do his best to comfort his wife. And the best way to wait out a storm was a nice story.

And Manny knew where to get one.

"Speaking of pirates, why don't you tell us how you know them, Buck," Manny said in almost an accusing tone. "They were throwing your name around more than a cat would a mouse."

"Yeah, tell us about when you were a pirate. What was it like?" Sid asked, looking at the weasel with no judgment at all in his face.

"Cut-throats, the lot of them," Tundra's grandfather grumbled as he poked Buck in the side with his walking stick. "Pirates bring nothing but trouble."

Buck sighed, and sat down so he could begin his story. But this wasn't like the story about how he lost his eye. He had been excited, gesturing wildly and acting out his part. Instead, he was sober and grim faced as he spoke.

"Yeah, I know those pirates. They're old mates o' mine," Buck began, looking them all in the eyes. "An' I'm a pirate, too. My parents were pirates. An' my grandparents were pirates. Perhaps their parents were pirates, but I'm not sure. Growin' up, all I knew were pirates.

"It was a good life, for the most part. Things were better back then. There were a lot o' sea minks that abandoned the ocean t' sail on the ice ships that land animals built. They brought excitement an' adventure, because that's what pirates believed in back then. I grew up on stories about Captain Firefur, an' grew up believin' that would be my life as well.

"But I soon found out about the darker side of pirate life, the one that was slowly getting bigger an' bigger. The part about raidin' herds, an' packs, as well as the humans an' other pirate ships. These raids were risky an' often had drastic consequences. But it was all about survival."

"What does this have to do with Red Claw," Manny said impatiently. He could tell Buck was on a roll, and just wanted answers, not the weasel's life story.

"Shhhhh," both Ellie and Diego hissed at the dark mammoth.

Manny did so, glad to see that Ellie was focused on Buck and not on the storm. He wrapped his trunk around hers, and felt her squeeze tightly.

"I'll get t' that, mate," Buck said gruffly. "The way of the pirate life was survival. But a new breed of pirate was being born when I was still young. A pirate that didn't just stole an' killed for survival, but because he wanted t'. He stole more than he needed. An' he spilled more blood than was necessary. An' it didn't matter if it wasn't pirate blood tha' spilled.

"Soon after I was old enough t' go out on my own, I jumped my parents ship. All my siblings had done; it was the pirate life. My sister an' two brothers came with me, an' we found a different ship. It was a good ship, but I forgot the name. We were only there for a few weeks when we came across The Black Ice, the legendary pirate ship tha' had been captain by Firefur himself.

"Black Ice was thought t' have been lost ages ago, an' was now crewed by ghosts.

"But it turned out just t' have been stuck in a cave for a while, an' a pack of pirate wolverines found it. They had taken possession o' the ship, an' were attackin' any livin' creature in their path. An' we were their next target.

"It didn't take long for the Black Ice t' completely decimate my new home. They killed most of the crew, an' took the rest of us as slaves

"Among the dead were my two brothers."

* * *

><p>Tundra had been right. Soon the temperature dropped below freezing, and the snow turned into sleet that froze directly onto the ship. It made running the ship far more dangerous than usual. The surface of the ship became more slippery, and sometimes as sharp as daggers. It wasn't unusual for a crew member to start limping and leaving a trail of blood.<p>

The work was hard, and horrible. In a blizzard, the ship needed constant up-keeping and checking to make sure it was in order. The sleet had to be chipped off certain surfaces to keep it safe for the crew and so none of the openings closed up. The vines that the crew used had to be constantly cleared of ice so they wouldn't break. The mast was constantly ordered to be bundled up and then released again depending on the direction of the ship. When it was inn full sail, despite the strong winds, were constantly rubbed with plant oils so it stayed waterproof. It had to be constantly monitored so it didn't freeze entirely or rip. There was even one crew member whose job was just to stay near the sail with bone needle and thread to repair it if needed.

The strangest and hardest job was taking care of the sabers and wolves that pulled the ship. If one looked as if their paws were bleeding or they were tiring, a crew member would jump down, tie a vine around the saber or wolf, and unhook them from the others. After that, twenty crew members would haul the creature a board, and take them below. Then a fresh predator would be brought back up, and would be slung down into the snow and hooked up. All of this had to be done while the ship continued to move.

All the minks, the two opossums and the beaver were put to work at whatever needed to be done. Even Peaches was put to work since she could pull up sabers and wolves after a little direction. It was much harder work than the minks and beaver was used to, and they constantly asked for food and breaks. Some of the female minks exchanged kisses with the pirates for a rest or a bite of fish.

Tundra found this interesting, but she had too much pride in herself to do like-wise, even with a few of the pirates flirting with her. She even found Crash and Eddie doing like-wise, swishing their leafy skirts and primping the flowers on their heads like any girls. She shook her head at them, but all they did was shrug.

After a few hours, the beaver and the weakest of the minks were sent below to their holding cell, nearly frozen and exhausted from such work. An hour later, more minks and Peaches were sent down. And as the time went by, more and more went down, glad to have shelter and a place to fall asleep.

Eight hours into their initial work, it was down to Tundra, Crash and two male minks. At this time, the ship's crew changed hands. Those that were working the whole night through went down into the ship, and the day crew came up. Crash and the two male minks tried to follow, but they were pushed aside.

"Who said you could rest?" Crowleg shouted at them, his claws out as he threatened them. "You're t' work until you drop. An' it looks like you have enough energy yet."

Crowleg turned out to be vicious and sadistic, and everyone hated him, even the other pirates. Unfortunately, when the changing of the shifts came, he made no indication that he was going down below. He seemed to enjoy his job of watching the slaves and yelling at them, taking swipes at them and laughing at their pairn. He was the one that determined if they'd had enough and could go below, which usually only happened when the mammal wouldn't move, even after being kicked a few times. He even beat the pirates if they didn't move fast enough, laughing if they managed to scramble away from his paws.

But the worst thing about him is that he never kept his eyes off of Tundra. The mink knew that he was just waiting for her to stop and rest, to slack off so he could tell the captain that she was down and out. And that would be the end.

But Tundra had kept out of his way. She was fast and nimble enough to avoid his beatings, except for the few times she sheltered the others from his wicked paws. She also argued with him enough to let the others go under, often threatening him if he didn't let them. She almost killed him when he raised an icicle to Peaches, but never laid a single claw on the babu due to Tundra.

He hated her, and wanted her to fail.

So Tundra had made sure she wouldn't let him have that satisfaction. Every time she felt fatigue go through her body, she dug deep within herself to find the energy to go on.

And now she used yet another reserve to fight for Crash and the last two minks.

"They're exhausted. They need rest. And food," Tundra yelled at Crowleg. "Let them go."

"No. They still have a few good hours in them," Crowleg laughed at her. "Or are ya _all_ givin' up."

Tundra glared at him. "I'm not done yet, but they are. Let them go under, and then I can get back to work." She was about to bring out her knife again if the cat wouldn't let them, but she didn't have to. Crowleg stepped aside and let the others through.

Crash and one mink had to carry the other through. As they did, the opossum turned around. "Tundra?"

"I'll be fine," she reassured Crash. "I can keep going."

Exhausted, the three continued down below.

Before they could disappear, Tundra had already turned around to continue to work. After about an hour, she realized that her efforts might be in vain. While she was able to keep up with the crew before, now she would be out done. The second shift was well-rested, fed and full of energy. As much as she tried to keep up, her body just couldn't do it. She stumbled more and more, and her fingers were growing numb as she slowed down. Her body was starting to shiver from the cold. If she didn't keep moving, she'd succumb to frost bite and hypothermia.

After one particularly bad stumble, she saw Crowleg leering evilly at her, grinning as if she were going to be on the menu tonight. He came up to her, and grabbed her arm.

"You're done," he told her, and pulled her to the hatch below.

"No," Tundra yelled and pulled away with all her strength. "I just needed a break. But I'm good now," she argued. And to prove it, she scampered up the ropes to the mast to repair the masts, ignoring the fact she couldn't feel her fingers any more.

* * *

><p>"My sister an' I were taken down t' the brig with the rest o' the crew that survived. Our captain, who had been captured during the skirmish, was executed before our eyes," Buck said, his voice lower than usual. "The brig was over-crowded with other slaves they had taken from other ships or whoever was in their way. T' give us room, they took a couple pawful of slaves away. I later learned they were fed t' the sabers an' wolves that pulled the ship."<p>

Everyone in Manny's herd had their eyes completely glued to Buck, not even stirring when Sid's fire started to go out. It wasn't until when Buck stopped talking and put more wood on the fire that everyone realized that they were cold.

"It was there that I made friends with some o' the slaves. They told me that the pirates often incorporated some o' the slaves in their crew if they proved themselves. But they only took the strongest, bravest an' fiercest into their own. I was determined t' save my sister as I couldn't my brothers. I was determined t' show the pirates I could be one of them.

"Among the slaves was a pack rat who also had the ambition o' being one o' the pirates. Together, the three o' us worked hard an' did some o' the most dangerous duties on board. We worked in storms worse than this one. We did all we had t' do t' stay alive, even kill. We were slowly trusted t' do more and more, an', eventually, indoctrinated into the pirates.

"Once we were part o' the crew, life became a lot easier, especially when the blood thirsty captain was killed. There was a mutiny, an' blood spilled easily. We sided with the mutiny, an' soon we had a new captain. This one was more just an' fair. It was still a pirate ship, but blood was reluctantly spilled by order o' the new captain.

"An' so life continued. On that ship, mutiny an' change of leadership wasn't uncommon. Some of them were fair, an' some were blood-thirsty.

Buck stopped for a while. His body language told them all that he held no pride or shame in his story. It was simple truth, and he was laying it all out in the open with nothing to hide behind. He didn't justify himself or apologize. It was Buck, cold and simple.

"As you may have guessed, my friend is Red Claw, although we didn't call him tha' back then. But it was he tha' had the idea. The ship an' the crew was successful most of the time, but sometimes the crew went hungry, especially during the chaotic moments when there was a new captain. An' one didn't last more than half a year, so we went hungry a lot.

"Anyway, Red Claw had an idea. We all knew tha' if the leadership of a ship was stable, then the crew would thrive. And it was obvious tha' a single captain wasn't doing the job, especially with tha' crew. They were a mottle bunch o' criminals, mutineers an' desperate slaves. It was too big of a job for one. Red claw had the idea tha' three captains might be enough t' temper the crew.

"An' so we planned a mutiny t' rival all other mutinies. We got most of the crew on our side, an' took over the ship. We had it so finely planned, tha' very little blood was spilled, an' only the captain had to die. Our take-over was complete.

"Havin' three captains took the crew a while t' get used t', but we established tha' our authority was equal, an' that we made decisions together. We governed that ship like no other captain had ever done, an' soon we were all eatin' like bears before hibernation. We were hard, but showed mercy. We were ruthless t' the violent members o' the crew, an' punished justly but severely.

"It was good.

"But then things changed.

"Red Claw changed."

* * *

><p>Hunger gnawed at her stomach, and she felt herself bending to the driving wind. Tundra mechanically went through the vine rigging, following one of the pirates as she carried a coconut shell full of sap. The sap was used when tears to the sail were too bad for them to be repaired with bone needles and flax. She was freezing, and her fingers could barely hold onto the coconut shell. And then she had to sit in the stinging blizzard as the pirate smeared the sap all over the sail. It was a cruel job for them to ask her to do. If she continued to move, she could stay warm. But staying still, her blood became sluggish, and she couldn't stay warm.<p>

Icicles in her whiskers and trailing down her tail, she withstood all the punishment the weather gave patiently. She fell asleep for a while before the pirate shoved her awake. She nearly toppled out of the rigging to her death, and he laughed at her. Too tired to retaliate, she slowly climbed down to the deck and put the coconut shell away.

_I'm not going to make it,_ she thought to herself. She looked around in the sky, and knew the blizzard wasn't even close to being finished. And who knew how long until they reached their destination. _I still have to try,_ Tundra told herself, and continued to the next chore on trembling legs.

Suddenly a cacophony of yelling and screaming started at the stern of the ship. Tundra raised her head and looked in the direction. She could see many of the pirates had gathered around their system of vine ropes as if they were pulling up a wolf or saber, but it was obvious something had gone wrong. Vines were whipping about everywhere, some breaking. The pirates were frantically trying to pull up the vines, but they were breaking. Suddenly, whatever was on the other end of the vine swung to the side. The action turned the vine so it rubbed against the sharp, icy side of the ship. It broke.

Tundra went to the side and could see the gray form of a wolf dropping fast into the snow, two pirates still clinging to the body. There was a vine still attached to the wolf, but only by its leg. If it was hauled up, its leg would be broken. And if they let it drop, it would be dragged behind the ship.

"Cut them loose," Crowleg ordered angrily, making a swipping motion at the vines.

"But Tanna and Scratch are still down there," a male weasel called out. "They can't get up."

"And the fall will kill them. Or the wolf will," a badger shouted.

"I told ya t' cut them loose," Crowleg shouted, pushing pirates forward. "Follow my orders, or I'll gut ya an' push ya over board."

At the violent threat, the pirates went to fulfill the order, but reluctantly.

"Wait!"

The knife was inches away before it jerked away after hearing the shout.

"I can save them," Tundra told them as she rushed forward, grabbing a vine that was piled in a loop.

"We can't loose any more rope. They're goners anyway. Cut them loose, says I," Crowleg shouted, anger showing.

"Just give me a minute, please," Tundra requested, not of Crowleg, but the rest of the crew. Before they could say anything, she had looped the rope around the mast of the ship, and started across the boom that jotted out beyond the side of the ship. Without hesitation, she jumped, the rope trailing behind her. It wasn't very far of a leap to the single rope that held the wolf, and she grabbed hold of it with one paw. The burning heat of the friction as she slid down brought life into her frozen digits.

As she came closer to the wolf, she could hear high pitched yelps and whining coming from the canine as it wriggled and jerked around up-side down. Two otters were on the wolf's back, hanging on with all their strength.

She landed on the wolf's thigh, and realized how bad things were. The snow that was being kicked up by the ice ship was being thrown at the four of them, making balance and sight harder to use. Scrambling down to the two otters, she shouted reassurances to them, and told them to hang on. Then, as best she could, she crawled around the wolf's belly and chest, dragging the rope with her. It was double dangerous with the icy slush being thrown at her and the flailing limbs of the wolf almost pushed her off before she finished making the harness. And all this time, she kept wondering when Crowleg would cut the rope, and send all four of them loose to either be killed or injured in the winter wilderness.

After tying the last knot, she pulled on her rope, and shouted for the crew to pull them up. For a minute, she wondered if they couldn't hear her. Then a sharp tug showed that they had started their ascension. After the second tug, the wolf was straightened out and it stopped panicking. Instead it panted tiredly, hugging all its limbs to its body save for the one that had the first rope around it.

Tundra first checked on the two otter to make sure they were alright and were keeping their hold on the wolf. Then she crawled down to the wolf's hind leg. She felt it, and it felt swollen. But after further inspection, she knew that the leg wasn't broken. Only sprained.

Finally, after several minutes of slowly moving upward, they reached the height of the boom. The perpendicular wood to the mast was swung inward so the wolf was over the deck. After a little worrying of the knots, the large carnivore was released. It stood shakily on three legs before collapsing from exhaustion.

The two otter pirates shakily crawled off the wolf to the cheers of their crew members. There was much slapping of backs and congratulations that they were still alive. More than just the otters had thanked Tundra for her quick action and bravery.

Before everyone could celebrate too much, Crowleg stomped forward and ordered everyone back to work.

"An' get tha' mangy beast back below," the crippled wildcat shouted at a few pirates that didn't scramble away quick enough. However, once he saw the wolf limping, he grumbled. "Its useless now."

Tundra jumped in angrily. "The leg is only sprained. It isn't broken. It'll heal."

"But its dead weight until then," Crowleg shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

"And it'll heal quickly. Give it time."

Before the mink could react, Crowleg pulled out a bone sword and slit the wolf's throat. Blood spilled all over the deck, steam rising from the wolf's body as if fell lifeless to the icy surface.

"We don't carry dead weight, missy," Crowfoot told Tundra as he brandished his bloody sword. "An' I suggest ya clean up tha' blood before it freezes unless ya want t' join it."

* * *

><p>The storm didn't show any sign of stopping. Even so, Buck insisted they look for food. The weasel guessed that they would be hunkered down for a whole day before they'd be allowed to leave, and they had to keep their strength up.<p>

The others wanted to protest that he had stopped in the middle of his story, but they didn't say anything. It was the nature of the subject that told them that it was Buck that needed a break. And it wasn't because of the need to make it more dramatic.

Taking charge, Manny insisted that Ellie, Sid and the two minks stay with the fire in case the others became lost. Then the large mammoth lumbered off by himself. Diego and Buck went together off in another direction.

Manny was back soon with a trunk-full of tree branches. After a little coaxing, he was able to get Ellie to eat the greens off of them and some of the bark. The branches were set aside for the fire.

Over an hour passed by before Diego and Buck came back, huddled together and shivering. They dragged behind them a stick with fish strung from it, and a load of mushrooms. Diego explained they found a river to catch the fish. Along the banks of the river was a shallow cave where the mushrooms grew. They nearly froze to death coming back since both were soaked from the river water.

Sid immediately devoured the mushrooms since they were the only food they found that he could eat. However, he nearly brought them back up when Buck joked that he was pretty sure they weren't poisonous, but he could have been wrong.

The weasel dealt out the fish between himself, the two elder minks and Diego; the saber received the lion's share of the fish.

Nobody pushed Buck into finishing his story. The weasel tried to put on a brave face and joke around, but for a long time after coming in from the storm he continued to shiver as he dried himself beside the fire.

Before they all knew it, they were dozing. But once Buck stood up, strong once again, everyone became wide aware.

"Where was I?" Buck asked in his gruff voice.

"Red Claw," Manny answered, wanting to know the end of this story more than anything else.

"Aye, Red Claw," Buck repeated, staring into the fire. "He was changing.

"He wasn't satisfied with being one o' the captains. I should have seen it comin' with how violent he was becomin'. He went out of his way t' be hostile with the crew. He wanted t' be feared by everyone. He was becomin' fast the kind o' captain we worked hard t' get rid of.

"There was talk about mutiny, but I ignored it. I didn't want t' admit that my best mate was turnin' into a monster. An' I didn't realize that my sister had the same idea. I was spending so much time ignorin' Red Claw tha' I didn't realize I was also turnin' a blind eye t' her as well.

"I was too busy havin' adventures, going t' the extremes t' have as much as I wanted to have. I should have seen the scars tha' my crew started t' develop, how they avoided my best mate an' my sister. I should have seen tha' they hated them, an' mutiny was comin' like a storm. I realize now why my crew didn't come up t' me. I held Red Claw an' my sister in high esteems. I believed we owned the world.

"I figure the crew didn't want me involved, since they organized their mutiny while I was away.

"I will never forget tha' night."

* * *

><p>The chill of the storm didn't compare to the chill that ran down Tundra's spine when she saw Crowleg kill the wolf with such quick deadliness. She had no love for wolves, but she thought that the pirates were all one group. She'd seen crew members joking with sabers and wolves as they were hauled up and down the ship. In her mind, she thought of these animals as a strange family, taking care of one another much like the pirates from her grandfather's stories. But Crowleg's actions made it clear once and for all that these pirates had little heart for anyone, least of all their own kind.<p>

With the help of a few others, they rolled the body of the wolf off ship. Tundra avoided eye contact with any of the pirates. She didn't want to see them jeer at her shock at the senseless killing. She didn't want to see their stone faces, immune to feeling for their fellow crew-mates.

After that, she used pine branches and carved bone to clear away the blood from the icy deck, scraping the ice clean so there were no sticky or sharp parts that could cause a danger. Then she was ordered to yet another task.

Her body protested from the abuse. Never had she been put through so much stress, even with Buck's training. She could feel her body telling her it couldn't give anymore without food and rest, but still she pushed onward. Her fingers were starting to freeze, and it was getting harder to grip the ropes. It was getting harder to see, her vision was becoming blurry. Her strength was ebbing.

It wasn't surprising that while she climbed up the vines to the sail that she lost her grip. She was already very high up; she knew that it would injure her very badly. She'd end up as the wolf, throat cut and shoved off the ship. Or fed to the crew. And then the same thing would happen to the other captives, one by one. It wouldn't be hard for Buck to follow them now. A path of bodies to lead the way.

All this ran through her mind in the second that she could feel her body lose its balance as it fell through the air. But a second later, someone grabbed her paw and pulled her back to the vine ladder.

"I'll take care of the sail," a young male voice told her as he took the bone needle from her. "Get up to the crow's nest for a little rest."

Tundra's body was going through a small amount of shock at being rescued after such a scare, and it took her a while to realize that it was one of the otters she rescued that was talking to her.

"Hurry up, before Crowleg sees you," the otter said with urgency, and pushed her further up the ladder.

She did as she was told. The young mink had never been up to the crow's nest before. Crowleg didn't trust her with the job of keeping an eye out for danger, so there was no reason for her to go. But as she crawled in slowly, she could see that it was solidly built out of wood. It kept out the wind and the stinging sleet very well, and she could feel her body warm up immediately.

Inside the crow's nest was the other otter she saved. He smiled brightly at her before returning to watching the landscape.

"My brother and I are very grateful for saving us," he said, although the wind made it hard for his words to be heard.

"It's fine," Tundra said as she huddled closer against the wood. "You've already thanked me."

"And yet we haven't done enough for you. I've never seen such bravery before," the otter said with a grin. "Is it true that you know Captain Buck? Did he teach you who to do that?"

It was strange to hear him called that, but she told him that she did.

"What's he like?" the otter asked with a child-like admiration in his voice.

Tundra could only shrug. "He's insane," she said truthfully.

"That's what I've heard," the otter said. "He's a legend among pirates. The crazy things he's done are amazing. And you've spent time with him."

"So, Buck used to be a pirate," Tundra said guardedly. _That might explain some things._

"You didn't know?" the otter asked. "Doesn't he talk about his adventures?"

"Not about when he was a pirate. But other adventures, he'll talk your ear off," Tundra said. She wasn't too happy about Buck, and added, "He's kind of a braggart."

"I'd be too," the otter said happily. Then he picked up a sack, and pulled out some food. "Here. My brother and I nipped this for you."

Tundra tried to grab the food, but her fingers wouldn't open very well. When the otter saw that, he took her paws in his and blew on them. His hot breath slowly warmed them up. Once one paw was warm enough, she ate ravenously at the dried fish that was available. As she did, the otter went back to watching beyond the crow's nest.

"I need to get back to work," Tundra said, not trusting the otter despite how nice he was acting.

The otter waved her to sit back down. "You rest for a few minutes. You need it."

"But if I stop, then the others. . ." Tundra argued, thinking this might be a trick to get her in trouble.

"My brother and I, we're indebted to you," the otter said, making her sit down. "You saved us, so we've got your back. A blood debt might not mean a lot to someone like Crowleg, but to us real pirates, it's a serious matter."

Tundra was so surprised by his words that she sat back down.

"My brother, he and a bunch of other guys are giving Crowleg the runaround. They'll keep him busy enough that he won't know you're up here. Get a few winks, and I'll wake you if things get gritty," the otter said.

And the little red mink believed him. Without any more words of persuasion, she curled up as tight as she could to sleep. Her body had been trained so much by Buck's strange ways that she fell asleep instantly, her body completely shut down. And she knew that at command, her body will wake up just as quickly, ready for actions if need be.

And as she slept, she felt safe in the pirate's company, just as if it were Captain Firefur from her stories watching over her.

* * *

><p>"I forgot t' mention the map."<p>

The new direction in Buck's story made everyone feel like they had vertigo. It was surreal after listening to such dramatics, that Buck's words were almost comedic.

"What map?" Sid was the first to ask.

In an instant, Buck changed. He was no longer somber Buck, but his old crazy self. His crooked grin was back on his face.

"Ah, the map. We found it embedded in the ice of our ship. A past captain musta hid it long ago. The ship was startin' to melt from a particularly warm year, an' we were headin' North to preserve it. The ice was thin, an' we saw it faintly. It took us a good month t' carve it out without damagin' the ship too much.

"One look at it, an' we knew it contained Captain Firefur's hoard. His treasure was legendary. An' once we beheld it, nothin' else was quite as important. For me, it spelled out one o' the greatest adventures. It showed many perilous obstacles an' traps. It was all I could think about.

"But for Red Claw an' my sister, all they could think about was at the end o' tha' map. About wha' kind of treasure Ol' Firefur had left behind. They became obsessed about it, arguing about how t' divide the treasure.

"I suppose that's what caused us t' drift apart. It was during our search for the treasure tha' the mutiny happened.

"I had taken a scoutin' party t' search for food, an' when I came back, the ship was in a frenzy. The wolves an' sabers were bein' driven mad by the smell of blood, an' were racin' for all they were worth. My scouters barely made it t' the ship. On board, it was chaos. There were already so many dead, I was sure tha' we were being attacked.

"An' then I saw up at the stern my sister an' Red Claw fighting for their lives against the crew, dead litterin' the deck. I admit tha' I was too shocked t' react t' such a scene. But then my energy burst an' I tried t' go t' my sister's side.

"But the members of my scoutin' party held me down, stoppin' me from interferin'. They kept saying they didn't want me involved, tha' they were hopin' all this would have been over with before I came back. They wanted me saved from havin' t' choose between my mates or the crew.

"An' from my place on the lower deck, I watched as my sister was backed into a corner, outnumbered an' outmatched. They pushed her further until she tumbled backward an' was holdin' onto the ship with one paw. Then one more flash of an ice-blade, an' my sister was fallin' while her paw still clung t' the ship.

"After tha', I don't remember wha came next. I must have thrown off those who were holdin' me down an' went berserk. The next think I knew, I was standin' in the middle of a pile o' bodies, everyone either dead or knocked out.

"I really hope I didn't kill anyone. I'm not sure."

* * *

><p>Tundra wasn't sure how long she'd been working. There had been at least three changing of shifts, but she could never be sure since a lot of the pirates looked the same in the driving snow. There were always a few that were friendly toward her, mates of the otter brothers. They would pass her food and water whenever Crowleg wasn't looking, or give her opportunity to get a nap in here and there. They were quite good at hiding her that Tundra was sure they had plenty of practice. There were plenty of pirates that would whisper words of encouragement to her, just because they wanted to see someone triumph over Crowleg's bullying.<p>

One thing that Tundra kept asking her unlikely allies was when they would arrive at their destination. To her disappointment, none of the crew proved to be navigators. There were only three who could read headings and knew their exact location: Glacier (who Tundra avoided like a stampede), the helmsman (who was a mute mongoose) and the Captain. To Tundra's relief, Red Claw and been pointedly absent from the deck, keeping to his cabin.

Because of this, Tundra was denied the comfort of knowing when her suffering would end. All she could do was press onward.

After a while, she became surprised when she saw Crash and Eddie working alongside her once more.

"We got a good night's rest, and asked if we could help out again," Eddie told her in a whisper.

"A few of the minks also agreed to come up. Maybe if we show we can work for a long time, they'll let you have a rest," Crash said hopefully.

_Fat chance of that,_ Tundra thought, but didn't vocalize it. She let Eddie and Crash think that they were helping her. It did no good to shoot down the opossum's hopes. But it did her spirits good to hear a few of the pirates stop to watch her and the opossums. They made cat-calls and whistled. One even said it was good to see strong girls working hard.

It made Tundra laugh on the inside to see the brothers pretend to be females, flirting with pirates and swishing their skirts. But underneath, she could see fear in their eyes. Fear of what the pirates might do to them when they find out they've been deceived.

The additional help was a blessing to the red-brown mink, but it wasn't enough. Her body was shaking from lack of sleep and muscle strain. Her eyes ached from the cold wind and stinging sleet. Her fur was too thin for the winter and was now heavy with melted snow that froze again on her tail and the ends of her whiskers.

As she was carrying a shell full of sap for another pirate to repair a large rip in the sail, her body failed her during the climb. Her paws couldn't hold on strong enough, and she slipped. Instinctual, she grabbed onto whatever she could, and let the shell of sap fall. The wind was strong enough that it carried the precious adhesive beyond the ship.

And Crowleg saw it all. In a rage, he climbed up the vine rigging and pulled her back down to the deck as roughly as he could.

"Ya little tramp. How dare ya loose all tha' sap? Tha' was all we have, an' now ya lost it," Crowleg shouted and kicked at Tundra.

But the mink was too fast, and she was able to roll away. However she didn't expect the wild-cat to slash at her with his claws. She cried out in pain as three claws raked up her back as she was rolling. The scratches were deep, but they were long. Fur and blood were left behind as Tundra rolled further away.

"It seems t' me tha' yer injured," Crowleg said with a sadistic smile. "I think it's time for ya t' quit."

"No!" Tundra shouted, getting slowly to her feet. Her muscles strained against the scratches as she moved. "I'm not done yet. I can still work."

"With yer injuries, ya might get one o' my crew hurt," Crowleg argued.

Tundra was pretty sure he said such because he wanted her to fail, and not because he had any concern for his crew. "They're not that bad," she said with strength in her voice. "I can handle it."

"Then ya can be on the pullin' crew," Crowleg sneered.

Tundra's blood turned colder as she glared at Crowleg. He was giving her a job that would be the roughest on her back. She wouldn't last an hour. But she had pushed past doubts before. She had an idea that she'd work until she dropped dead if she had to.

But that was more than she could hope for. One yank on a vine to haul up a saber, and her paws lost their strength due to the pain in her back, and she collapsed. If it wasn't for the other pirates, the saber would have been lost.

"See. Yer worthless now," Crowleg said with a wide grin that show his sharp teeth. "An' you know wha' tha' means. . ." The wild-cat raised his ice sword, excitement in his eyes to spill blood.

Before the mink could blink, the pirate cat's sword stopped in mid-swing. And the paw that stopped the killing blow came from the most unlikely of places.

"What do yer think yer doin'?" Red Claw shouted up at the wild-cat, who stood twice as high as the packrat.

Crowleg looked completely surprised by his captain's intervention. "I was just followin' yer orders. You said tha' if this wench couldn't work anymore, they'd all die."

"Aye, I did say such," Red Claw said agreeably. "But wha' made you think that you could carry out those orders."

The wild-cat stammered out unintelligible words as he back peddled as quickly as he could.

Captain Red Claw just starred at him calmly with his red eyes until Crowleg stopped talking. "It seems t' me tha' the little mink has earned her keep for the rest o' the voyage, despite wha' I said. In case you didn't notice, if I didn't stop your sword, someone else might have done otherwise. An' they would have been less congenial than I."

Crowleg looked away from Red Claw to see the crew glaring at both their Captain and the wild-cat. Many were fingering weapons that were still half-hidden away.

"Relax, lads. Our Miss Tundra is in no danger. Now, back t' work," the pack rat shouted, and was immediately obeyed.

"But the prisoners," Crowleg argued, looking petulant. "An' the crew. If ya go back on yer word, they'll see ya as soft an' weak. They'll mutiny."

"The only mutiny that'll happen today would have began with the spillin' of this young lass's blood," the captain said. "It seems she has made a bigger impression on this ship than you have, Mister Crowleg. Which is why I am assignin' you her duties. I suggest you begin right away if you wish t' remain a member of this or any crew."

The hidden threat was enough to send Crowleg running as best he could with one twisted foot.

Now, alone, the pack rat held out his paw to help her up.

"Are you speaking truth?" Tundra asked suspiciously, making no indication of taking the offered paw. "Or was that speech just to spare me for yourself. Because I can still work."

"Stubborn an' hell-bend, just like Buck, tha' you are," the pack rat said with a laugh. "The truth is, when I said I'd kill ya if ya stopped, I was likely t' bet you'd drop after a few hours. It still surprises me tha' you're still a spit-fire after all this time. Tha' in itself earned you an' your companions' lives for a while longer."

Tundra stood up without aid from the pack rat. "Do I have your word?"

"Little good tha' would do, since I already broke my word once today," Red Claw said with a sharp smile. "All the cards on the table, I hate Buck more than anythin'. I see now tha' your story is more likely. If you be tellin' the truth, I have every intention t' let you live. At least until I can gut you in front of that stinkin' weasel's face."

Despite the violent words, Tundra felt relieved. All of Red Claw's prisoners would be safe.

"Now that we've got tha' over with, perhaps you'd like t' have a long rest. I offer my cabin for your use, if you'd like."

Tundra made a face of disgust as she realized that Red Claw was leering at her. "No thank you, Captain. I would prefer to check up on my people and stay with them."

"I suspected as much, but you can't blame me for tryin'," Red Claw said. He bowed to her and left her alone.

She wasn't escorted below like the others, and not one pirate harassed her as she descended into the brig. Her body ached all over, but she still pushed it to move a little further. She first checked up on the other prisoners, making sure they had food and water. Some were still a little traumatized and tired from working in the bad weather. A few were still missing, like Crash and Eddie. She presumed they were still working above.

Peaches, while still distressed from being separated from her parents, seemed to be well taken care of. There were signs that she was given something to eat. She was very glad to see Tundra, and constantly stroked the mink. Once Tundra was satisfied with everything, she allowed Peaches to wrap her trunk completely around Tundra. The two of them snuggled close together and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"They were all gone. I had no one left," Buck said sadly. "Whenever we met another pirate ship tha' wasn't tryin' t' kill us, we'd ask about family. I'd hear news about my family. One by one, they died. My mum an' dad, all my brothers an' sisters. It was just down to me and me sis. An' now she was gone.<p>

"An' I realized tha' they were all pirates, lived as pirates, died as pirates, by the hands o' pirates. An' I saw my future in my family. As far as I was concerned, I was already dead."

Buck paused a while, and then a light came on in his eyes.

"Then I thought, 'I'm just like all these other pirates. Nobody will remember me. But I have the ship o' the most famous pirate ever. I should go down like Firefur.' From my vantage point, I saw a glacier downhill o' the ship, an' I came up with a brilliant idea. I carried every livin' body off tha' ship an' laid them flat in the snow. An' I left them behind.

"I drove the sabers an' wolves as fast as they could at the glacier, an', right before it was too late, I cut them loose. Wolves an' sabers ran in all directions, but The Black Ice, Captain Firefur's own ship, couldn't be stopped. I could hear yells an' shouts from the crew as they were wakin' up, but they were no longer my crew. It was just me an' the dead, cuttin' through snow on our way t' our greatest adventure.

"The ice gave away under The Black Ice, an' down it fell.

"When I woke up, I was in a tropical land under the ice. The Black Ice was cracked in two an' quickly meltin'. The biggest surprise t' me was that I survived the fall.

"An' I was a pirate without a ship, which means I was no pirate at all. From that point on, I started a new life. I buried my old crew, an' left everythin' behind.

"I went back t' the place of my ship once, but the only things left were the mast, boom an' rigging. An' the treasure map. I realized tha' it was the center of my ruined life, so I destroyed it. It was no used t' me, especially since I had no intention of returnin' t' the surface.

"An' that's my story mates. You can make wha' you want of it, but that's the plain truth," Buck said, looking at them all. "You can think wha' you'd like o' me for wha' I've done, an' I don't care." The weasel sat down, looking emotionally weary from bearing his soul.

A crackled voice spoke up, her question having nothing to do with the story that was just told, but was demanding all the same. "And what exactly is your reason for wanting to rescue my granddaughter?"

It was Tundra's grandmother that asked, and she kept her piercing eyes on Buck as she waited for an answer.

"My reason? Do I need a reason t' rescue anyone?" Buck tried to answer nonchalantly.

The elderly female mink stood up and walked to the spotted weasel, using her cane to move around. Once in front of Buck, she looked up at him. "But my granddaughter isn't just anyone. She's precious to me. What is she to you?"

"Yeah. What are your intentions with my Tundra?" the other mink came in, his voice grumpy and defensive.

Buck shrugged. "I didn't have anythin' better t' do. Besides, she's me mate. I can't let a mate down."

Ellie snorted. "Come on, Buck. You've been telling us the complete truth all this time. Why stop now?"

Buck tried not to show it, but their questions were making him feel anxious. Much like being in therapy with Dr. Honeybee. There were answers bubbling up, but they couldn't make it past the fog of his mind. The fog had abated since the adventure started, but once these questions came again, his mind became muddled again. He wanted it to stop.

There was only one mammal who could do that.

"It's because I need her," Buck admitted, feeling selfish. "I need her in me life. There are things tha' didn't feel clear or right. But then she came, an' things became good. It was clearer. But then she was goin' t' leave, an' the fog came again. An' the voices, they keep comin' and goin'. They're everywhere. In rocks an' trees an' pineapples. She made them go away, an' I was okay. But if she's gone, I miss the voices." Buck realized he was rambling, but the words kept coming up as if he were sick over and over again.

Manny and Diego exchanged looks with wide eyes at the strangeness of the weasel. Diego mouthed the word "awkward" to Manny, and the mammoth nodded in agreement.

"I just know that if she's back, then everythin' will make more sense. If she's happy, then the world will be clear again, an' things will be right," Buck said in an almost desperate voice. "So those are my intentions. I want to rescue her 'cause I need her more than anythin' else in the world."

Buck couldn't help thinking about what he just said. It was all true, but what did it all mean? Was the Doc right? Did he have feelings for Tundra? More than just mates?

Tundra's grandmother smiled up at the weasel, and patted his check. "You're a good boy. You have my blessing."

Tundra's grandfather only grunted, but didn't say anything.

Ellie squealed. "Eeeeee. I knew you loved her. I could just tell when you came charging in after the pirates. I'm so happy for you, Buck."

A conflict of feelings entered into Buck's body. First, he knew what Ellie had said was right. He was in love with Tundra. He loved her so much, more than anything else in the world. More than himself, and he'd die if it meant to keep her safe.

Second, he in love with someone who was engaged. Sure, they were the best of friends, but why would Tundra choose him over pretty-boy Rocky. He was rough, crude, and slightly crazy. Not to mention, he was probably older than her. He was suddenly aware of his many, many flaws. Why would beautiful, strong, high-born and well-mannered Angel-girl want anything to do with him?

The last thing that went through his mind was that he had a wife. Of course Tundra didn't have any feelings for him. She was too high class to go after a married mammal. And what kind of a jerk would he be to leave his wife for a younger female?

And then he realized that he had no idea where his wife was in the first place.

"Where did my wife go?" Buck shouted before he realized what he was saying.

"Oh, she was captured by the pirates as well," Sid replied quickly.

Buck clutched at his heart, realized that the two females in his life were in great danger. "Oh, those pirates better not touch my wife. Tundra can take care o' herself, but my wife is delicate."

"Wait. You're married?!" Tundra's grandfather yelled at the weasel, looking for something to hit Buck with.

Patient Manny stopped the elderly mink with his trunk and whispered. "His wife is a pineapple. Don't worry; Buck's just a little crazy."

Tundra's grandfather starred at Buck in amazement, and then his countenance returned to a grumpy glare. "Great! Our only granddaughter is in love in a psychotic, ex-pirate."

"I like him," Tundra's grandmother said with a satisfied smile as she sat down. "He has a cute butt."

* * *

><p>She did not dream, and she was thankful for it. She was so far down in the darkness, that the mink had no idea that she was being moved in a very ungraceful manner.<p>

Peaches, refusing to let go of the red-brown mink, was poked and prodded to leave the confines of the brig. If it wasn't for the company of her uncles and the other minks, she would not have gone anywhere with the pirates. But they eventually coaxed her up onto the deck, and back down the ramp. All that time, holding tightly to Tundra by her middle.

Tundra wasn't aware of her treatment, even as her legs and head dangled unsupported as Peaches walked. It wasn't until Peaches was on solid ground and dropped Tundra into the snow did the mink wake up.

"What?" she cried out in surprise. She found she could only see blurs, and rubbed at her eyes. "What's going on?" she asked the nearest mink.

"We've arrived," the mink said, and helped Tundra up to her feet.

_The pirate's hideout_, Tundra thought to herself, her heart quickening as she remembered the fabled pirates' secret lairs from the stories. She quickly looked around, and found she was in a large cave that seemed to be carved of ice. She continued to look up as she followed the pirates and other prisoners further on. Eventually, the ice ended and rock began, going further into the earth. Moss and lichen on the walls glowed, providing light for the uncanny group.

Also, strangely enough, the air became warmer the further they went. After about half a mile, they arrived to a very large chamber in the cave. By this time the air was warm enough it could have been called spring-time. And as if spring was there, small bits of other vegetation were growing here and there, and lizards of all colors walked up the walls and along the ceiling as if it were a city.

But Tundra was still too tired to care too much about how interesting their setting was. Once the pirates led them to a side cave that didn't go down too far and set up guards, the mink plopped down on the luke-warm rocks and went back to sleep, ignoring every ache her muscles protested.

She wasn't sure how much time passed, but she was woken abruptly by one of the female minks.

"Hey, you need to get up now," she whispered, her voice and paws trembling.

"What's wrong?" Tundra asked, quickly awake. "Is everyone okay?"

"They're all fine, but the pirates want the females," the mink said nervously.

"What for?" Tundra said with a growl. If she didn't like the answer, Red Claw would have to answer to her.

The female mink blushed, and waved her paws around quickly. "Nothing like that. It's just that the pirates are having a feast, and they want us to serve them."

Tundra snorted. "Okay. But tell the others not to drink anything but water. And to steal as much food as they can. We aren't beaten yet."

Tundra's words startled the mink, and her eyes grew wide at what Tundra insinuated. But she didn't say anything more, but went to go tell others.

Eventually the females were ushered away. Their group was quite large; not many of the captives turned out to be males, something Tundra wasn't too happy about. If they were to escape, she needed strong, able bodies. Of course, "strong" and "able" didn't exactly go hand-in-hand with her family. But they would have to do.

The only problem she could see was that she didn't know if the blizzard was still going on or not. The others didn't know since the ice-ship was pulled right into the cave. If Tundra had thought of it, she probably could have found out by putting her ear to the ice walls at the beginning of the cave. They'd have to take a risk.

Once again, Tundra was surprised to see Crash and Eddie bunched with the females, especially since their disguises were starting to fall apart. But they covered that up with high voices and being as flamboyant as possible. But that didn't hide the fear from their eyes from her.

Things went by very quickly from there. Each female was given leaves of food and were to walk around the pirates, who basically sat anywhere they pleased. Drink was passed around by a few females, and Tundra quickly took a taste of it. To her disappointment, it was hardly fermented. It would even make a mouse drunk on the stuff.

Tundra did her job of serving food properly, and tried not to make any contact with the pirates. Other females flirted and teased just so they wouldn't have to work, and that was to Tundra's advantage. It gave her more time to scoop out the cave, and make any plans for them to escape.

However, she cringed when she heard the loud barking of Captain Red Claw shouting for her.

"Where's tha' little spit-fire? She's the one I want servin' me."

Tundra sighed dramatically, and went to the summons. The packrat was completely surrounded by food, his paunchy belly acting as a belly to hold more tasty morsels. In one paw, he held a piece of red fruit that was dripping juice. In the other, a piece of raw meat, dripping as well.

"There she be. I'll be wantin' t' keep an eye on you," Red Claw said before biting into the fruit.

"Really? Because I'm sure there are a lot prettier minks here than I," Tundra said modestly but stiffly.

Red Claw laughed. "Not for tha' purpose. I saw wha' you were doin'. You were lookin' for a way t' escape."

Tundra tried not to look shocked. She just acted tired, which she still was.

Red Claw shoved the rest of the raw meat in his mouth, and swallowed it quickly. "Well, let me tell ya lass. If it was just you, you might have a chance. You're a savvy gal. But if you plan on takin' all these silly things with you, then you're yankin' yer own tail. You might as well submit t' your fate."

"Easy for you to say," Tundra said, feeling irked by his gloating. "You're sitting fancy here in this cave, with all your crew to protect you, surrounded by your treasure." She swept her paw over the feast. It was an amazing spread. She had never seen so much food. It rivaled any mink gathering. It could feed a family of mammoths. A large mammoth family.

Red Claw guffawed loudly, his back feet twitched from every breath. "You think this is treasure?! Wha' a simpleton."

Tundra tried not to let the insult get to her. She was more interested in what exactly could be more valuable than food. Or perhaps it was even better food. Human food that was rumored to last for moons without spoiling because it was touched by fire. Or food from places that ice never touched, much like what she'd eaten down below the ice. She could understood how animals from the Ice Age would regard tropical fruit as treasure.

But what Red Claw showed her completely stumped her. She was almost embarrassed that she missed such a large detail of the terrain.

Right behind Red Claw, almost like it was a towering statue of a god waiting to be worshiped, was a pile of stones. And not just any stones, smooth shiny ones. Stones that looked like they had been smoothed down by water. There were colorful stones, and some opaque. Many of the more colorful ones weren't as smooth as others, but they still looked pretty. Some rocks had bits of gold and silver in them. Other were black as night, but shone in the light; the light of the soft glowing moss that only made the pile of stones even more unearthly.

"That's your treasure?" Tundra said very unsure of herself. She thought for a minute that Red Claw was mocking her. But then she saw the gleam in his eyes as he stared hungrily at the beautiful stones.

"Treasure enough t' satisfy any mammal. They're so beautiful, an' they're all mine," the captain said in a lusty voice.

_How could anyone be so infatuated with something so useless?_ Tundra thought to herself. She turned to look at the crew to see what they thought of their half-baked captain. But all she saw were eyes glowing with greed and desire at those stones all around her. _They're all mad. They lost all their senses and are fixated on something that can't keep them alive. It's asinine._

Tundra decided that pirates were all they were cracked up to be. But as she looked away from the pirates, she noticed one of them not looking at the pile of precious stones. The first mate, Glacier, was still calmly eating. He picked up his food as if his claws were delicate. As Tundra recalled, he didn't seem to care whether or not the females served him, and ignored everyone but the captain.

_What a strange ferret, _Tundra thought to herself. _And he seems to be more cunning and capable than Red Claw. Maybe I could get him to help me, in exchange for helping him. . ._

"Aye, tha' be _real_ treasure," Red Claw said tenderly as he looked away. "I could stare at them all day, if it wasn't for needin' food an' takin' care of me crew."

Tundra was jolted out of her thoughts, and returned to serving the captain food. She was determined to not interact with the crazed captain again.

_Why am I plagued with the sanity challenged ones? _Tundra thought to herself.

Just as she was moving on, Red Claw grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.

"Let go," she snarled at him, straining her patience so she wouldn't kick him in the face. If she did that, then she wouldn't be helping anyone. "I'm trying to do what you want."

"Then perhaps it would be best if you finally told me the complete truth," Red Claw said, his red eyes glaring at Tundra.

She cringed away, her fur rising out of fear. "I don't know what you mean.

"I'm a pirate," Red Claw explained. "I'm surrounded by liars, an' I partake of lies as much as a baby does his milk. Now I'd like t' know why it is you lied about the romance between you an' me old mate."

Tundra made no more effort to conceal her deception. "Alright, you found out," she said as non-nonchalantly. "But I didn't lie. I am in love with Buck. He's just not in love with me. In fact, he probably doesn't even know you've mink-napped me. He's gone home, never to return. I just said all that so you couldn't touch him." She smiled smugly, as if she had him captured instead of the other way around. "You just made a trip for nothing."

_I just can't let you find out about Buck's wife,_ she thought to herself, hoping that one more revealed truth would stay hidden.

"That wasn't the smartest move t' make," Red Claw said frowning. "You just revealed your trump, an' that was the only thing keepin' you alive."

"And you as well," Tundra said, revealing the knife that she had slowly moved to Red Claw's belly without anyone noticing. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."

There was no doubt about it. Red Claw was completely surprised, and dumbfounded. And then he burst out laughing.

"It seems t' me, the only thin' I can do," Red Claw said slowly, his sharp teeth glowing just as eerily as his treasure, "is t' make you one of me crew."

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 12<p>

(Author's notes: One thing I am worried about this chapter is that my readers might think the "treasure" part at the end might be stretching things a bit. I did not do this because I was trying to make them more like human pirates.

My grandparents owned a cabin in the woods, and for years, a packrat lived in the walls. They couldn't kill it no matter what kind of traps they used. And I was told that if anything shiny was left out, it was possible it would turn up missing. I even heard that sometimes, the packrat would leave a piece of food near the object, as if in exchange.

It took me years to realize the packrat didn't put the food down to appease the owner of the shiny thing. It was because he was returning home, and decided that a bracelet or a gum wrapper was much more important than food.

Kind of explains Red Claw a bit more, doesn't it?)

Me: Now it's time for fan question time. Most of my questions came from one reader called Language Nut, who has be completely awesome in their reviews. These are the questions they asked me.

How much do you write, in say, an hour, and how many hours do you spend on each chapter?  
>Did you plan out the entire story from the beginning?<br>Do you read fanfiction yourself, or just write?

Based on an average page in Open Office, I can write maybe two pages in an hour, if I am lucky. If I am on a roll, I can get three pages in. On each chapter, I pretty much spend over twenty hours, and that's writing, re-writing, reading and editing added into it. And I have writer's ADD. Sometimes I'll be writing, and something shiny will distract me. Like puppies or pretty Transformer toys.

I do plan my entire story before writing it, but most of the time I do this in my head. I have a fantastic memory when it comes to my stories. Except when I write it down, and then I forget everything. But recently, I have been getting into the habit of writing down chapter summaries before starting my stories. This has greatly increased my writing, and kept me on track if there are details I forget. But that doesn't mean my plans are set in stone. Sometimes I change the story as it goes, if I think of something better. Frost is an example of this. I had intended she be a very, very side character, but she's been in my fanfic much more than I thought she'd be. And she's awesome.

Last question: I read very little fanfiction. I usually only read a story unless one of my good friends suggest it. I more often than not read the summaries of stories, especially if I'm writing for that show and I want to see what has been done. Although recently I became a Beta read on , which has given me a different kind of opportunity of reading fanfiction.

Language Nut also has a question for Frost. They wrote: Are you proud of your cousin for finally standing up to her mother? And what do you think of those two crazy possum twins?

Frost: Of course I'm proud of my Tundra. Someone needed to stand up to that female. And as for those twins, they're okay. . .for possums. I kind of like how much they are freaks. I'm thinking of keeping one as a pet or a boyfriend, just to see my parents reaction. But I can't seem to choose which one. What do you guys think?

Me: Okay. . .Frost. Anyway, we have one last question from an anonymous source: Which is bigger in size: Buck or Red Claw?

(Buck and Red Claw stand back to back.)

Me: As you can see, Buck is almost twice as tall as Red Claw.

(Buck snickers at Red Claw)

Me: But he's skinny and bony. Being a packrat, Red Claw is compact and weighs more than Buck. So the real question is: Who would win in a fight? Let's find out.

(I push Buck into Red Claw. They get angry and start fighting and swearing at each other.)

Me: This looks like it'll take a while. Well, I'll see you all next time. And remember, we're on the last chapter. This is your last chance to ask me or any of the other characters questions. So make them count. See ya at the end!


	13. Chapter 13: Obviously Insane

(Author's notes: I know this final chapter has been anticipated for a long time, so I won't keep you. I apologizing for not getting this up sooner. I need to add a warning to all my fanfics that I'm a slow writer. Thank you for your patience. Make sure to read the epilogue of this story that will be posted just when you finish. Also, near the end, I answered a lot of questions from you, the readers. Make sure you check them out XD)

What's the deal with my brain?  
>Why am I so obviously insane?<br>In a perfect situation  
>I let love down the drain<p>

There's the pitch, slow and straight  
>All I have to do is swing<br>And I'm the hero  
>But I'm the zero<p>

Hungry nights, once again  
>Now it's getting unbelievable<br>'Cause I could not have it better  
>But I just can't get no play<p>

From the girls, all around  
>As they search the night for someone to hold onto<br>I just pass through

Singing  
>Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa<br>Singing  
>Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa<p>

Get your hands off the girl  
>Can't you see that she belongs to me?<br>And I don't appreciate this excess company

Though I can't satisfy all the needs she has  
>And so she starts to wander<br>Can you blame her?

Singing  
>Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa<br>Singing  
>Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa<p>

Tell me there's a logic out there  
>Leading me to better prepare<br>For the day that something really special might come

Tell me there's some hope for me  
>I don't wanna be lonely<br>For the rest of my days on the Earth, oh

Oh ho, ho ho, oh ho whoa  
>Singing<br>Oh ho, oh ho, oh ho whoa

Singing  
>Oh ho, whoa oh<br>Whoa oh oh, whoa, whoa oh

"Perfect Situation" by Weezer

Love Makes You Crazy

Chapter 13: Obviously Insane

By Hatashi Kitty AKA Emilou

"What?!"

The word came tumbling out of Tundra's mouth before she knew it. Her brain was still registering that what Red Claw had said wasn't a question or an offer. It was a statement.

"It's tradition. The strongest o' all prisoners are offered t' become pirates," Red Claw said with a grin. "It's how pirates been doin' thin's for years."

Many of the pirates were nodding their heads, at least those still not stuffing their faces or passed out drunk. They watched Tundra expectantly, waiting for her answer. Some even called out encouragement.

"Come on, Tundra. Join us."

"You'd be a great pirate.

"This is some sort of trick," Tundra said, tightening her grip on her stone dagger. "You're just saying stuff to put me off guard. I warn you, if you try anything, I'll kill you."

Red Claw laughed. "Lassie, I love yer spirit. If ye were a weasel, I'd swear ye were Buck, even a female," he said calmly. "But on closer inspection, I can tell ya new a' this. Ye haven't killed a mammal in yer life, have ye?"

Tundra tried to make her voice and face hard to intimidate the pirate captain. She pressed the sharp tip of her knife against his stomach. "What makes you say – Ah!"

As she was talking, Red Claw struck quicker than a snake. He grabbed the mink's paw that was wrapped around the knife hilt, twisted her around, and forced her to sit in his lap while holding the dagger up to her own neck.

"Ye don' have the look o' a killer," Red Claw whispered in her ear. "Yer paws have yet t' be tainted. Once they are, ye get a strange look in yer eye. A dangerous glint a' times tha' warns others away. It says, 'Back off. I am walkin' death'. Ye must have seen it before. It's in Buck's eyes."

Tundra grunted, feeling the dagger pressed against her neck. The tip was as sharp as saber claws, but the edge was dull enough that it wasn't cutting her. However, it left littler room for her to move and she had to keep pressed up against the captain, to her disdain.

"Have ya see it in his eyes?" Red Claw asked, his voice eager for the answer.

Tundra had seen that glint. She was all too familiar with it these past few days. It was frightening and horrible, something that would cause anyone to quake unless they could match it. However, she puffed up as if gloating to Red Claw as she said, "Yeah, I've seen that glint many times on your ship. But I've never seen it from Buck. Ever."

"Ye lie!" Red Claw shouted angrily. He removed the dagger from Tundra's throat, and pushed her away from him.

The action was so rough that Tundra broke her grip from her weapon, and she crashed onto the stone floor of the cave. She rolled away just as Red Claw threw himself at her in an angry fit. The mink, with the agility that Buck taught her, was on her feet and ready for another attack, watching the pack rat as he snarled savagely at her.

Red Claw went after her, dagger waved wildly, his red eyes flashing anger. Knowing that his opponent was unarmed gave him even more cause to recklessly attack.

But Tundra wasn't taught how to fight from just any old pirate. She was taught in the school of Buck Wild, and learned many different styles of Make-It-Up-As-You-Go.

Using her body shape as an advantage, she weaved away from Red Claw's frantic dagger attacks, and leaped over his head rolling away. She was faster than Red Claw, and she was younger. She thought she had enough of an advantage to get back her dagger. But she was wrong.

Just as she reached for her her own dagger that was on the table, her ear was pulled toward the table and slammed her face into the wood. Pain shot through her ear and she immediately tried to pull away, which only caused more pain. She ventured her paw out to see what it was that was causing her pain. At her first touch, she knew that it was a dagger that had her pinned to the table. Red Claw must have thrown it. She then tried to reach for her own dagger, tilting her head enough to see it out of the corner of her eye. But it was still a paw's reach away.

A paw grabbed her head, and her ear exploded with more pain as she was forced to move away from the dagger. Whiskers tickled her ear, and she knew Red Claw was right behind her.

"Yer lucky I'm such a good shot, girlie," the pack rat whispered with a chuckle. "A lil closer, and yer be missin' more than just part of yer ear."

Tundra shivered at the chilling message. Twice she was bested in this tussle, and she didn't think he'd let her try again. Her life was in the paws of this mad mammal, and she couldn't see him letting her live, especially since she refused his offer to join him.

From what she could see, she saw Red Claw's paw reach across the table and take the dagger she was trying to get, and threw it to once of his crew.

"Buck did teach ya well. Ya fight jus' like him. Almost as good as him," Red Claw said, and yanked his knife out of the table and Tundra's ear. He watched as the mink, once free, quickly moved so her back was no longer to the pirate captain. "Ye are dangerous like him. I would be a fool t' treat ya like these other weak, shakin' minks. I should kill you."

Red Claw let his knife hover over Tundra's throat, watching the mink as she met his glare. He wanted her to flinch, to start crying, to beg to be spared. Hundreds had done so at his feet, many of his crew had. The few that didn't, that didn't let their fear control them, he killed them all. All except for Buck.

That's when Red Claw remembered the reason the minks were there at his hideout. "I should kill ya, but then ya will miss Buck, won' ye?" he asked.

"You forget, Buck's not coming. He doesn't even know I'm missing," Tundra sneered.

Red Claw studied Tundra for a while, and spoke. "I think ye be tellin' the truth, and not the truth. Even if ye aren't Buck's mate, yer still his _mate_," the pack rat said, his tone telling the difference in the meaning of the word. He felt a thrill when he saw the concern in the mink's eyes. "Aye, he'll come, which is why I won' kill ya. For now." The pack rat smiled, a cruel gleam in his eyes. "But when I have both of ya, who should I kill first? Who should watch the other die? What do you think?"  
>That's when Tundra turned her head away and broke eye-contact.<p>

Red Claw laughed, and his crew joined in.

"Tied her up and put her with the rest o the prisoners. Guard her and make sure she doesn' make any trouble," Red Claw ordered as he grabbed Tundra's foreleg and tossed her to two of his crewmen. "The rest o ya minks, get back t' work, or ye'll get the same."

* * *

><p>Sleep was fitful; nobody wanted to rest in the state they were in, but Buck insisted on it. He had a carefree look on his face as he said good-night and lay down by the fire.<p>

Manny slept lightly, and every once in a while, awoke groggily for a few minutes just to fall back into his restless sleep. During those small moments of wakefulness, he was sure that Buck was sitting next to the fire, staring unblinking into the flames as if mesmerized. It was a look that Manny knew, for it was the same look he had staring into snow storms right after his first mate was killed by humans.

But once morning came, Manny saw Buck uncurl from a sleeping position, stretching and smiling cheerily at everyone.

"Alright, mammals. It's time t' head out," Buck announced, clapping his paws to encourage them to get up. "We've got a lot o' ground t' cover."

"But it's still snowing," Sid said.

The storm around them was still raging, and they could barely tell that the sun was up.

"It's cleared up a bit," Buck said, looking at the clouds. "We have half a day before it gets bad again, an' we can cover a lot o' ground by then."

"How much further is it?" Ellie asked, her eyes roving the falling snow. She was having a hard time getting her bearings, and wasn't sure which direction they would be traveling.

"If we can maintain top speeds for as long as possible, we only 'ave 'alf a day's run," Buck predicted.

"But they're over a day ahead of us," Manny growled, looking very displeased. "Who knows what those pirates are up to."

"In their ship, they 'ad t' go the long way. We can go over obstacles that they can't," Buck told the mammoth reasonably. "But Red Claw will know tha', and he'll be waiting for us."

"But he won't be expecting all of us," Tundra's grandfather said from on top of Ellie's back. "We'll send him running for taking Tundra."

"Oh, I'll give him a whoppin' if he touches a hair on her head," Tundra's grandmother said and smacked her gums.

"Yeah, you both look very scary," Manny said in his dry way. "You just leave some of him to me."

"Then let's head out, mammals," Buck said, jumping onto Diego's back. "In that direction, kitty cat."

Diego looked like he wanted to murder anyone who dared to call him "kitty cat", that is, except Buck. With a serious look, he pointed his nose in the direction Buck pointed out and started loping ahead, hearing the mammoths follow with their pounding rhythm.

* * *

><p>The female minks, Crash, and Eddie were exhausted after serving the pirates food and drink. They were even forced to clean up some the messes that was left behind after the feast before they were ushered back to their cell by a pair of drunken badgers. When they were back with the others, most were cuddled up against the baby mammoth to keep warm as they slept. Peaches had Tundra in her trunk and was snoozing peacefully. Tundra looked to be dreaming as well, but immediately woke up as they approached. The female minks cringed as they saw her ear; the sore had bleed a lot. It was now dried and looked worse then it was.<p>

Once the badgers were gone, and the guards (who weren't allowed to participate in the feast to watch the prisoners) were a distance away so they could gamble with a pair of bones, Tundra was able to whisper.

"Someone cut me out of these bindings. Were you able to steal anything?"

"We weren't able to get your knife back, but I swiped this," Crash said, pulling out a stone knife with a serrated edge. He used it to cut Tundra's bonds before handing it to her.

Tundra took it, tested its balance, and nodded. "Any more weapons? Food?"

Everyone laid out what they could. With Tundra's knife, there were two bone knives and a couple of sharpened sticks. They were more successful in sneaking away food, which they had in a large heap.

"Good job, girls. Crash. Eddie," Tundra said, proud that they were so successful. "Let's wake the others so we can get out of here."

After a few whispered names and shaken bodies, all the minks, as well as Dr. Yew, were awaken. Peaches was another matter. She was a heavy sleeper, and had to be brought to by small degrees for a couple of minutes. As Crash and Eddy tended to their niece, Tundra talked to the minks.

"You gave most of your food to Peaches, like I asked?" Tundra asked the males.

They nodded.

"She ate until she couldn't put anything else away," one chuckled.

"Good. Now everyone eat your share. Force it down if you have to but eat it all. We won't take anything with us," Tundra ordered them all. "We'll need all the strength that we can get."

The sordid group of mammals did as they were told. Their faces showed they had little appetite, but they ate with a purpose. Tundra did the same, even though her stomach was protesting the nourishment she was forcing down her throat. What her body wanted was sleep, but there was no time.

Eventually, the minks looked sick as they slowly chewed, sadly gazing down at the diminutive pile of leftovers and contemplating how they were going to fit more into their bloated bellies. The solution came of its own; Peaches, still groggy from her sleep, gobbled down the remaining food. Apparently her earlier feast didn't affect her appetite now.

After that, there was only a small group of guards that stood between them and freedom. It didn't take Tundra long to dispatch the guards, since they had expected the crafty mink to be still tied up. The fight was a little too noisy; even by one that was trained by Buck couldn't be expected to be absolutely silent in their fighting.

Tundra, afraid that the noise of her altercation had aroused the other pirates, quickly directed the mammals to the entrance of the cave. She put one of the more self-assured minks in charge, and told them to start running as quickly as possible. The minks and Dr. Yew needed no urging, but Peaches balked at the sight of the pirate ship. Her uncles had a hard time persuading her to continue forward.

As the others were fleeing, Tundra lagged behind. She knew that her escape plan was flawed. Even as she led the escape, she knew that the odds were stacked against them. It only took one of the pirates to raise the alarm, and the deadly pirate ship would swoop down on her little group. She had hoped that the snow storm would cover their tracks, but it looked to be dying down. There was hope that the storm would pick up, but she couldn't count on that. She had an idea of covering their tracks, but Peaches made that task nearly impossible to do quickly. And setting false tracks for such a large group was beyond her.

Tundra sighed with worry; their only hope was to run as fast as they could, and expect a miracle. As she was about to follow the other mammals, she looked up at the massive ship, and came up with a brilliant plan. She would cut the ropes that the ship needed to function. If the pirates had no sail or any way of harnessing the wolves and sabers, they would have no propulsion. They would have no way to pursue the escapees!

As fast as a mongoose fighting a snake, Tundra climbed up the ice ship. It was a difficult task considering the angle of the ship and the lack of paw-holds, but once on deck, she wasted no time in slicing the sail right down the middle and cutting through all the rope she could get her claws on. The new serrated-edged knife was actually more beneficial for this work than her old one. Once the sail was useless, she moved to the pulley system that had all the rope work for the wolves and sabers. She cut all the rope as quickly as possible before climbing back down.

Following the clearly marked trail, Tundra ran into the wavering storm, praying that the mammals had covered a lot of ground before she found them. There was no telling how long their escape would go unnoticed. She didn't tie up the guards, so whenever they became conscious they could warn Red Claw.

And she was sure that Red Claw wouldn't let the damaged ship get in his way of getting his captive back.

* * *

><p>Tundra was right in her guess that it wouldn't take long for the pirates to realize their prisoners were gone, but she hadn't predicted those who discovered it first. Still in the bowels of <em>The Blight<em>, the avian crew that Red Claw used to search for Buck from the air were snoozing the storm away. The birds preferred to stay in their roost on the ship, especially since their seed was also stored their. The captain made sure his most valuable asset was kept happy.

Owls have excellent hearing, and it was a good thing for Red Claw that he had a few on board. They were the ones that heard tiny feet running across the deck. After stretching out their wings a bit, a few went above to see if the storm was over or if their captain was preparing the ship for another journey. To their surprise, nobody was on board and piles of ruined rope and sail littered the ship. Knowing something was wrong, the owls woke the rest of the birds, and they went as a flock to investigate further in the cave. After finding the guards knocked out, they cried out in a cacophony of different calls as a warning.

The discordant melody of the flock echoed through the cavernous chambers to the ears of the pirates that lay around the feasting table. Most were fast asleep, laying in positions that suggested they became unconscious while in the process of moving around. Those that still had their eyes open lazily groped around for more drink and food.

Glacier, one that abstained from being too glutinous but had decided to get some rest anyway, was the first to awaken from the call. His captain was close behind him, aware of the alarm but not yet in control of all his faculties.

"Wha- what's gonna here?" Red Claw shouted, his mouth not quite working. He stumbled and wobbled on his hind legs. His movements jostled some of his crew, and they were sleepily coming to as well.

The second-in-command raised a paw to his ear, listening to the alarm. "It's the avian crew. They are calling the alarm," Glacier answered his captain's unintelligible question.

"The prisoners!" the pack rat shouted, suddenly a lot more sober than before. He reached for his knife, but didn't find it in his usual spot. After some looking around, he found the stone knife he took from Tundra. Grabbing that, he swung it into the air. "What are ya lads waitin' for? Get after 'em."

In a movement that looked like a herd of three-legged deer running away, the crew fled the armed captain despite having neither balance nor direction figured out. But even with that handicap, the group of animals managed to make it to where the prisoners were held, only to find their fallen comrades with lumps on their heads.

Shouts from the other side of the cave told Red Claw what he had suspected. The prisoners were indeed gone.

"T' the ship!" Red Claw ordered, dashing after his crew. "Tie up the wolves and the sabers. We'll get 'em and gut 'em."

The crew cheered at that, rushing to _The Blight_. Howling and growling with malicious delight at the thought of spilling blood, the pirates clamored up into the ship, but once they saw the destruction that was wrought upon their vessel, their clatter died down.

A snarl erupted from the captain's lips once he saw the mangled sail and cut ropes. "What are ya lads starin' at? Get ta work. Sew up that sail. Get it hung up. Tie the ropes together. I want this ship in workin' order in five minutes or I'll feed yer useless carcases t' the sabers."

Paws started moving quickly, running up and down the deck frantically to obey the pack rat's shouts.

Red Claw moved to the bow of the ship, leaning against the icy railing. "I want that female mink strung up by her tail next t' Buck. I'll run every last of my crew ragged to get them!"

* * *

><p>Tundra was glad to see that her fellow escapees had made it so far away from the pirate cave, but it was quite clear they were scared and not thinking. They had been running in a straight line across flat, smooth snow. Once she had caught up to the group, she steered them in a direction she guessed where home was, based on what little of the sun she could see. Not only that, but she could see signs of a glacier where she was steering the group. The ice ship couldn't be taken across such unstable ground.<p>

She also had another motive; the sun was almost set, and soon the darkness would bring the bitter cold. They had to find shelter, someplace where the pirates couldn't get them. But the more she thought about this, the more she was sure that she had made a mistake. No matter where they went, the wolves could find them. They may have had a better chance being the pirates' prisoners and wait for Buck or even Peaches' parents to arrive. But out here, they'll be found by foe, not friend.

Feeling the weight of her mistake on her shoulders, Tundra drove the mammals forward.

* * *

><p>The ship did not look pretty, but then again, it never did. But it was now in functioning order. Every single wolf and saber that they had was harnessed to the ship, and the sail was back on the mast with an ugly stitch down the middle.<p>

"Follow their trail," the captain screamed from the bow, his large girth looking as if it was going to be hurled off.

In a frenzy of churning paws, the wolves and sabers plowed through the new snow that came up to their bellies. But that didn't seem to hinder in their excitement, especially with twice the amount of power pulling the large chunk of ice.

Through the storm clouds, the sun tried its best to shine, but within the hour, the mountains would be blocking the source of light.

"I want them found before dark," Red Claw shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

But that wasn't to be when night fell and there was no hide or hair of their quarry. The crew was on edge as their captain paced the deck. The tension grew even more when the trail led them to the edge of a glacier, and _The Blight_ couldn't move any further.

Always present at his captain's side, Glacier leaned down to whisper in a tattered ear. "It seems, my captain, that you have obviously underestimated this mink one time too many. You might want to resort to strategy. "

"What are you suggesting, Glacier?" Red Claw asked, directing his face to the ferret.

"Why, release the dogs, of course," Glacier said non-nonchalantly.

It took Red Claw a while to realize what Glacier was insinuating, and then he grinned manically. A few quick words were shouted, and a half dozen wolves were released from their harnesses in mid-run. It was unusual for this to happen, but occasionally the wolves were sent to track where the ship could not. Wolves were better than sabers at tracking, and they were good at herding quarry toward the ship. While the wolves did their job, the ship would go around the obstacle and stay as close as they could. The wolves would use howls to communicate with each other over the distance.

There was always the risk that not all the prisoners would be alive, but there was no way to make sure the wolves didn't touch any of them. Red Claw smiled. That was alright with him, as long as Tundra was brought back to him alive.

* * *

><p>As night descended, Tundra became worried. Things were going badly. There was no sign of the pirates, but neither was their sign of shelter. The glacier was proving very flat and not giving way to any caves. Not only that, but Tundra hadn't realized that while minks and beavers weren't heavy enough to worry about going over a glacier, Peaches was. They had to be exceptionally careful of where the baby mammoth stepped because the wrong one could plunge her down an air pocket of unknown height. As the time went on, it became very apparent that the storm was starting to pick up. Everything seemed to be against them as they trekked forward, not knowing when or where, or even if, they would find sanctuary.<p>

And then they heard the wolves howling.

The sound carried so softly on the wind that at first they believed it was their imaginations, brought about by the stress of their escape. But soon the howling was evident and coming closer. It caused the others to be nervous, and Peaches trumpeted a few times in fear.

Tundra yelled above the brewing storm encouraging words to keep everyone from panicking, moving them along one paw step at a time. She felt fear in her belly, and suspected that it was the pirates on their trail. To her confusion, the sound of the wolves moved to their flank. Thinking that perhaps the wolves were just coincidence, the mink changed the group's direction with the hope that the wolves wouldn't scent them. But that proved to be another mistake that Tundra realized soon enough. It became evident to her that the wolves were driving them, most likely to Red Claw.

Tundra felt fatigue set in. Her body still hadn't recovered from the days of continuous work, and her ear throbbed in the icy cold. The escape had drained her energy, and the wolves were sucking out all her hope. There was nothing else she could do.

After a little while, she stopped the group of mammals for a quick rest. They had been traveling for hours. They looked exhausted and welcomed the rest. They were also in high spirits, chatting about their loved ones that were at home worrying about them.

Tundra hated to tell them, and almost didn't. But they had been through too much, and they didn't deserve to be lied to. So she explained to them what the wolves were doing, and that there was nothing they could do. They would be captured again. So she gave them an alternative.

"We can't escape them, but we do have a choice. We can give ourselves up," she told them all.

Many were surprised by her words, gasping and protesting.

"I will tell Red Claw that escape was my idea. He may spare you if we surrender," Tundra explained, quieting them down. She expected the whole group to think it over, to talk amongst themselves. But she, in turn, was surprised as the minks raised their voices higher in protest.

"Red Claw is mad. He won't accept surrender."

"We're in this together"

"He won't kill one of our kind."

"We fight!"

To Tundra's bewilderment, she no longer saw posh and pampered minks. These minks weren't the same ones that came to her wedding days ago. These were fierce animals, cornered and ready to fight to the death. The weapons they had gathered from the pirates were in unskilled but willing paws. They did not know how to fight, but only that they must.

"We fight!" they all shouted as one.

Tundra couldn't help but smile. _Was this what Buck felt when he saw the change in me? _she asked herself. Feeling pride for once in her species, she raised her voice with them, raising the unfamiliar knife up to the air.

* * *

><p>The howls that rode the winds were coming closer, telling the pirates that their prisoners would soon be in their grasp. But it still wasn't soon enough for Red Claw.<p>

"Send out the birds," Red Claw ordered Glacier. "All of them. Tell them to bring me the mink."

Glacier sent out the order to the underlings.

Soon the flock was circling _The Blight_, a dark cloud surrounding the sail as it gaining altitude. This time, the flock was lead by the owls, their large eyes made to see in the dark. But on a stormy night, it would be difficult for even owls. Once they had enough height, they followed the sound of the howling wolves. They weren't far away. In fact, they were less than a mile away from the ice ship, running diagonally with the ship.

"Which one is the mink that Red Claw wants?" one owl asked the one that was in the lead. "They all look like prey to me."

"Take them all," the lead owl shouted so the rest of the flock could hear. "Let Red Claw sort them out."

Like a torrent, the flock dove in a wave to bombard the small company of mammals.

* * *

><p>"Birds!" the warning cry came.<p>

Just as Tundra had predicted, Red Claw had sent his most mobile crew to attack while the wolves drove them.

"Stay calm. Those with Crash and Eddie, get under Peaches. Keep her calm and moving. Don't let the wolves catch up," Tundra ordered. "The rest of you, don't fight them. But don't make it easy neither."

The gathering of minks suddenly broke away from each other, sprinting away in all directions as if they were in a panic. One by one, the birds swooped down, their talons extended to grab a hold of bodies, tails or whatever else they could snag. Shouts and cries followed the birds that was lucky enough to carry off one of the captives.

Tundra was one of the last ones to be captured. Her days of running from dinosaurs gave her plenty of practice. Near the end, she was surrounded by a half dozen birds, all of them realizing that she was their true target and were desperate to be the one to bring her to Red Claw. A large crow managed to snag her tail in an awkward grip as she dodged a second bird. A few feet in the air, the crow lost its hold on her sleek tail, and she fell. Luckily (or unluckily) an owl caught her on her way down, all four talons wrapped around her long body. She struggled a bit as her captor expected, but then she calmed down.

_Now if everyone will stay half as calm as they did on the ground, we might have a chance,_ Tundra thought to herself.

The higher into the storm they went, the harder the wind buffeted them. The wind grew louder, especially with it whistling through the owl's feathers. But even so, Tundra thought she heard a familiar sound, one she hadn't expected. Twitching her delicate ears to pick up the sound, she smiled. It might have been too good to be true, but she was sure she had heard the sound of an adult mammoth trumpet.

Quickly changing her plans a little, Tundra readied herself as she spotted the ice ship coming up on the horizon. Most of her minks were ahead of the flock, and would arrive before her. She could even see a few being dumped onto the deck of _The Blight_ along with a fat beaver that had to be carried by two birds. The pirates had them surrounded, keeping them together in a corner. She hoped the minks could work without her.

Just as Tundra's captor started its dive to the ship, she pulled out her knife, and stabbed down as hard as she could in the owl's talons. There was a sharp cry from the owl, and it immediately let her go. Tundra wasn't through with the owl yet. Just as the large bird let go, she grabbed onto its underbelly and climbed up onto the owl's back. Confused at the mink's actions, the owl flapped erratically as the wind pushed the two of them around. Tundra waited until the owl drifted closer to the mast before jumping. She stabbed her knife into the mast, and clung to the large pillar of wood.

"Ya can't get away from me tha' easily, missy," Red Claw shouted from the deck. He had obviously been keeping an eye out for her, and spotted her when the owl started flying strangely. "If ya know what's good for yer friends, ye'd come down here."

"No, they can fend for themselves," Tundra shouted coolly. "You'll have to come up here to get me."

"So, yer've turned coward and let yer friends take the fall for ya," Red Claw said with a laugh, but deadly anger was behind his words.

"As I said, my friends can take care of themselves," Tundra said, and raised her knife. "We fight!"

To the surprise of the pirates, the minks stopped their false cowering to raise their weapons. Although they had very few weapons at first, on their journey that had made their own by sharpening branches they've found or breaking off sharp icicles. With these new weapons, they fell upon their captors with a fierce determination that crossed the line of desperation long ago.

"It's you and me now, Red Claw," Tundra called down to the captain as the fighting broke out. "If you want your revenge against Buck, you'll have to come get me."

The pack rat snarled savagely as he put Tundra's knife between his teeth before climbing up the mast.

* * *

><p>The break in the storm was a relief to the mammoths and saber as they charged through the newly fallen snow with their passengers. They had continued their pace the whole day, and kept at it when the sun started to fall beyond the horizon.<p>

Soon after the light started to fade, Ellie stopped. Her face turned at an angle and she spread her ears out wide.

Manny and Diego did the same a few paces in front of them.

"Do you need a rest?" Manny asked, looking worriedly at his wife.

Ellie didn't answer, just kept looking in the distance.

"Ellie, is everything alright?" Diego tried.

"We need to go this way," Ellie said with determination, walking where she was facing.

"But the rhino's nostrils are tha' way, mate," Buck shouted from Diego's back.

"I don't care. My mommy instincts are telling me to go this way," Ellie said with the stubbornness of her species.

Manny, his shoulders set, followed. "Go that way if you must, guys. But I'm with Ellie on this."

Diego and Buck looked at each other at the same time.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Follow that mommy," Buck directed.

The saber-toothed tiger didn't need any other motivation, but went after the rest of his herd.

After a while, the terrain became sharp, with lots of icy formations. Once they came to that point, the mammoths could hear the ice beneath the snow crack underneath their large feet.

"Careful, Ellie," Sid warned as the female mammoth's leg fell into a large hole. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ellie said, allowing her mate to help her up with his trunk.

"We're on a glacier," Manny said sourly, looking at the land. "We should go around."

"No!" Ellie exclaimed. "Look, don't ask me how I know, but I know that my baby is in that direction. I've got to get to her now, and if it means crossing a glacier, then so be it."

"There's no arguing tha', mate," Buck said with a crooked grin when Manny looked as if he would argue. "You're not gonna t' win this one."

"We go slowly," Manny said at last. "No rushing. I'm not going to loose you, too."

Diego jumped ahead of the mammoths. "I can test the ground ahead. It might help."

"Don't ya worry," an elderly voice called from Manny's back. "I don't see any of us dying today."

Tundra's grandfather appeared next to his wife, who rolled his eyes. "That's nice. Let's get back out of the cold."

"I ain't gonna die of the cold," Tundra's grandmother grumbled. "I told you a long time ago, I'm gonna die in my sleep years from now. But you might want to watch out for that one." She pointed at Sid on Ellie's back. "He gonna die of plague. Awful business."

"Can we cut the senile talk to a minimum?" Manny complained.

"Oh you hush, Mister I'm-gonna-die-of-ulcers," Tundra's grandmother growled.

"You don't scare me," Manny said, starting to move as he spoke. "What are ulcers anyway?"

"Oh, I've heard of those," Ellie said, trying not to giggle. She found Tundra's grandparents absolutely hilarious, despite the horrible situation. "They make your fur fall off if you don't take care of them."

Manny harrumphed, but didn't say any more as they continued on.

* * *

><p>Directed by her uncles, Peaches ran in fearful circles to avoid the pack of wolves that were herding her toward the pirate ship. Three other minks, who managed not to be snagged by the birds, were riding on top of the baby mammoth's back while the opossums were on her head.<p>

The wolves were wearily keeping their distance, staying back as long as Peaches kept moving. Earlier, they had come within snapping range, but Crash, Eddie and the minks took care of them with some carefully aimed snowballs and chunks of ice they had made. The ice of the glacier was sharp, and drew blood if struck in the right place. This had caused the carnivors to be cautious, a few already with bleeding noses and bruised eyes.

But things were looking a little bleak for the little mammoth. She was feeling tired from the exertion of running for so long, and the building storm was slowing her down. Crash and Eddie couldn't keep pushing her for long. They would have to find a place to make a stand. After seeing a particularly sheltered land formation, they steered Peaches toward it.

"Okay, guys. It's time to show those wolves what we're made of," Eddie told the minks, who were geared up from the excitement and fear.

"Ready as much ammo as you can, because we're not going down without a fight," Crash told the minks.

* * *

><p>As the fighting spread out along the icy deck of the ship, Tundra watch as Red Claw climbed up the mast, his sharp nails tearing into the wood as if he were trying to cause it pain. Her eyes lingered on Red Claw's mouth, seeing that her stone knife was clenched between his teeth. Smiling to herself, she made her way to the higher boom close to the crow's nest. Standing on her hind feet, she kept her balance as she walked across the boom, several dozen feet above the deck and the action below her.<p>

"Where do ya think yer goin', lass?" the course voice of Red Claw called to her from the intersection of the boom and mast. "There's no where t' go."

"What makes you think I'm running away?" Tundra challenged. "I was just trying to find the best place for our battle."

For a while, Tundra thought that the captain would continue to talk, but she was startled as he gave a primal yell and charged at her. She stumbled back, suddenly uneasy about this fight. Back in the cave, she did prove she had skills. But in the end, Red Claw was better. And he had been drinking.

As their weapons collided, sparks shot out between the two stones, and Tundra was pushed back from the pack rat's immense bulk and power. She held back Red Claw's attack for a while, and then slid back since she couldn't match his power. After a little fancy footwork, she struck back, using her speed to strike fast and then move away.

Red Claw soon became irritated with the mink's fighting style. She was far too swift for him, and her agility prevented him from cornering her at the end of the boom. But he was confidence that he would beat her eventually. Endurance wasn't an issue with him, and he could tell that she couldn't handle her new knife. Her fighting was sloppy and erratic. It was almost as if she was trying not to hit him, but the knife in his paws.

After a while, Red Claw was able to lash his unarmed paw out and grab Tundra's other arm so she couldn't withdraw. He pushed his knife against hers, thus pushing her down as well and forcing her to kneel. He laughed as she ground her knife into the other, as if that would help. In an instant, Red Claw had the mink at his mercy as he tripped her so she fell with her back against the boom, her knife falling out of her paws.

Chuckling, Red Claw told himself to take things slowly. He wanted to enjoy this moment. But, to his outrage, Tundra was grinning up at him as if she was winning. Narrowing his eyes, Red Claw tried to figure out what he had missed.

As if she were reading his mind, Tundra just nodded her head to direct his attention below them.

Before the pack rat looked, he realized that he could see a lot better than before, as if a light source that hadn't been there before had appeared. Looking down, his heart seized in a fit as he saw a sight he wished he hadn't.

A small fire was burning in the middle of his sail, and it was quickly spreading, feeding on the dried skins that were soaked in fat and tar to keep it water proof. Better kindling couldn't be found within miles for the fire to feed on.

"The sparks," Red Claw whispered, suddenly realizing the reason for Tundra's bad knife fighting skills and her grinding the two weapons together.

Seeing her chance, Tundra kicked one of her legs up with as much force as she could, aiming for Red Claw's right paw. Her aim was true, causing her knife to be rocketed up into the sky. She rolled her back to regain her stance, and punched Red Claw in his pointy nose before catching her knife on its return trip. Before the pack rat could rush her, she pointed her own knife at the captain, standing as straight as she could.

Red Claw froze, eying the knife carefully. He held his paws up, palms toward Tundra in the universal sign that he was unarmed. "You wouldn't strike an unarmed opponent, would you lass?"

"Yeah, it's called winning," Tundra said quickly, and swiped at the pirate. She knew that trick. Buck knew all the dirty ones. He invented some of them! As she thought, the captain of the ice ship was able to dodge the knife and, in the same motion, struck at her with his whip-like tail.

Their fight continued, now lit by the hungry fire that was spreading down the mast and ropes, consuming everything in sight. As they continued to grapple, it became apparent to Tundra that even with her advantage with her weapon, she might still be outmatched by the seasoned warrior.

* * *

><p>The storm was growing in strength, the wind blowing against them. It felt like an upward battle that the mammoth couple were fighting. The saber was much closer to the ground, and had less trouble with the wind, but more with the large drifts that could swallow him up.<p>

"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Diego yelled back for the second time, his unsureness questioning his friends.

"Just keep moving uber-tracker," Manny goaded.

The saber-toothed tiger could see that both mammoths were very tired. Snow and ice were hanging in clumps on their fur, and icicles were forming under their trunks. It didn't look like they could go for much longer.

"There!" Ellie exclaimed, her trunk pointing straight out in front of her.

Everyone, even those huddled in the mammoth fur for warmth, looked up to see. In the distance, not more than a mile away, they could see a source of light where one shouldn't be.

With renewed strength, they all pushed on, soon hearing the howling of wolves that only confirmed what Ellie knew. They were very close.

* * *

><p>Dr. Yew was not a fighter. Even when the social-elite minks picked up knives and spears like heathens, the timid beaver had cringed at the thought of violence. He was quite relieved when there weren't enough weapons go around. But now in the thick of the squabble between the minks and the pirates, Dr. Yew feared for his life and the life of his lover. The turn of events that led to his capture couldn't have happened at a worse time in the beaver's life.<p>

Dr. Yew had felt he was always over-shadowed by everyone else in his own field of practice, including that of his mentor, Dr. Honeybee. He had sheltered the belief that he would never be more than average in anything he would do. Nothing about him was unique, and he expected to lead a boring and dull life until he died.

And then the exotic Mrs. Buck came into his life. She was firm and plump, and another mammal's wife. The thought of the forbidden fruit normally wouldn't have tempted him, but those green fronds and the rough skin had enticed him away from his bubble. Their first touch had caused electricity to run through his fur, and his heart played music for his soul. It was true he had heard others criticize her appearance, calling her ugly. But to Dr. Yew, she was beautiful.

During the few hours they were alone while Buck talked to Dr. Honeybee, they had bonded like star-crossed lovers. Since that moment, Dr. Yew never let the pineapple go, keeping her close so that her erotic scent was constantly around him. Secretly, they planned on running away after the wedding, going far, far away where nobody would find them. Dr. Yew had even picked out new identities for them. He'd be Bradly Maple, an amateur painter, and she'd be his young model, Francesca.

But the pirates had ruined everything, and, most likely, they would both die before they could experience happiness. All this time, Dr. Yew had been able to shelter his delicate fruit from being rough handed by the mangy pirates, and he had high hopes that he could slip away before any of the pirates could spot him. Or worse, Buck find him with his wife! Dr. Yew shuddered at what the primitive weasel would do to him if they were caught. It was no wonder the pineapple was unhappy in that marriage. She deserved someone more cultured and sensitive, like Dr. Yew.

When the final battle with the pirates broke out, the beaver scurried into a dark corner, hoping that he would go unnoticed. Crouching in the dark, he kept his back to the icy walls, trying to be invisible. He kept his eyes open, looking for any chance to escape unnoticed. He had nothing to do with the minks or the pirates. Nobody would notice if he jumped ship and ran. But one look beyond the rail, and he knew that was easier said than done with the ship continually moving. He'd be lucky if he survived the fall.

"What have we got here, mates?" a malicious voice from above said.

Fearfully, Dr. Yew looked up, and could see a pirate looking down at him from the upper deck. Two more joined him. Two of them were weasels, both with bold brown pelts unlike Buck's spotted one. The third, the one who spoke, was a mole, his star-shaped nose twitching.

"Tryin' to hide from us in the shadows it looks like," one of the weasels said, jumping down from the upper deck to a few feet in front of the beaver.

The other two followed, although the second weasel slipped a bit on the ice, but stayed upright.

The mole sniffed once more, and pointed at the beaver. "He has somethin' hidden. Somethin' tasty."

"Oh, that's right. He's the bugger that carried 'round a pineapple," the second weasel said with a chuckle. "Do you suppose it's ripe?"

His companions licked their lips.

Adjusting his hold on the pineapple so that she was behind him, Dr. Yew said as boldly as he could, "D-don't you touch her. I-I'm warning you."

"Come on, mate. Share with a few hungry fellas," the mole said, his claws wiggling in anticipation. "Give us a couple of bites, and we'll let you go."

While the pirates salivated, Dr. Yew's mind was filled with quite a different image of why the ruffians wanted the pineapple.

"You shall not take her purity!" the beaver cried out, and with a burst of unnatural strength, he bowled over the trio and sprinted away from his attackers.

The pirates, more shaken by the beaver's boldness rather than his physical attack, composed themselves and went after him with weapons raised.

* * *

><p>Blocked from all exits, the baby mammoth and her protectors watched as the wolves circled the opening to the ice formation. Every time one of the wolves came closer, the minks, Crash and Eddie would use their tails to sling-shot another projectile, causing their enemy to yelp in pain. But the longer they stayed there, the sharper and bolder the wolves came. Soon, they were attacking in pairs, and then in threes, finding out that their prey couldn't hit all of them at once.<p>

In one such attack, a fourth wolf jumped in and grabbed Peaches' hind foot in his jaws. The baby mammoth trumpeted out in fear and pain as she was being dragged away. The rest of the pack took advantage of the situation when the smaller mammals had focused their attention on the one wolf. They jumped closer, snapping at opossums and minks that scattered away from their teeth. The lead wolf, feeling immensely hungry from his run, turned to young mammoth ready to spill blood for a feast. Just as he leaped for the finishing kill, a thick trunk reached out of the storm and wrapped around the wolf's middle. In an instant, the trunk flung the wolf away, throwing him against a pillar of ice.

"Don't you touch my baby!" Ellie trumpeted as she pulled the wolf who had bit Peach's leg by the tail and tossed him as well.

Behind the she-mammoth, two wolves were crouching together in preparation to attack. But they were stopped as a second mammoth plowed into them with his head lowered. There were yelps and whines in the darkness, and when Manny turned to his wife, one of his tusks had blood on it.

Diego jumped on yet another wolf, biting until it was barking for mercy. The rest of the pack followed the others into a retreat.

"Is she okay?"

In stunned silence, Peaches had watched her parents rescue her, and she didn't make a sound until they first spoke. Still not moving, she said, "Mama," in a pleading tone.

Right away, Ellie knelt down at her daughter's side and cradled her with a motherly trunk as Manny checked Peaches' leg. After much cooing and hugging of their daughter, congratulating her on her first (real) word, Manny was able to tell his wife, "Only a couple of puncture wounds. They're bleeding, but not much. She's got some tough skin."

"Just like her daddy," Ellie said, still touching Peaches all over with her trunk. "She's still really cold and tired. I don't think she should travel."

"But the others. . . ," Crash interrupted the family reunion. "They were taken by birds back to Red Claw."

"We have to go save them," one of the minks yelled with determination. "My son is one of them."

"Take care of your family, mate. I'll go after the others," Buck said, popping his head up behind Diego's.

"You? Take on that?" Manny asked irritated, nodding his head in the direction of the flames that were not too far away. "It looks like your girlfriend will need a little more help than you."

"Its a signal for me," Buck told them, his grin looking more like a grimace. "Red Claw is after me, not you. I got Angel-girl into this mess, and it's my job to get her out. Take care of your own, mate."

Manny and Ellie only exchanged looks for a moment before replying.

"Is that another Buck rule? Because if you followed it, you would have let us die in that jungle," Manny said smugly.

"And that burned your buns, didn't it mammoth? T' need someone like me t' keep your family safe?" Buck shouted above the roar of the storm.

"Yeah, it did. But that didn't stop me from letting you save us," Manny argued. "Are you going to let pride stop you from letting us save your family?"

Buck looked about ready to argue some more, but then did a complete turn around and smile. "Well, alright then. Let's get movin' mammoth. The fun's started withou' us."

* * *

><p>The fire had grown out of control, spreading to the mast and booms once the sail was consumed. The blustering wind helped the spread of the fire, carrying off sparks to cause more damage. A few of these sparks found the rope at the bow of the ship, and starting eating at it like famine-starved animals. The wolves and sabers, still tied to the ropes, became panicked and lost their organized formation. The ice ship drifted to a stand still as both feline and canine alike fought their restraints before the fire spread to their hides. Along with that, the warmth of the fire was causing parts of the ice-ship to melt. The deck was slick with water and spilling out wherever it could.. After a while, <em>The Blight<em> was beginning to look like any other piece of ice.

Up on the upper boom, Tundra and Red Claw were still fighting, knife against claw. The fire underneath their paws was licking at their steps, forcing them to continue in their dangerous dance least the fire or their enemy catches them unaware. The crow's nest was already being consumed as a giant torch, keeping the two mammals on one side of the boom.

"Ye've got a lot more skill than I first gave ya, lass," Captain Red Claw complimented in between grappling moves. "But ye've got nowhere t' go, even if ye do escape. My crew will gather ya up faster than last time, and I doubt ye'll have much fight in ya. Best if ya tell yer people t' surrender."

"With what ship?" Tundra mocked. "Not much of a captain without a ship. Will your crew follow you then?"

"Ye'll pay for that," Red Claw spat out as he slashed at the mink with his nails.

Tundra flipped backward to avoid the attack. Her footing was uneasy as she stepped on wood that was very hot and becoming unstable from the fire. "Tell me, Red Claw, just how much are you willing to give up just to have Buck come and knock you around," Tundra scathed, blocking another slash with her knife. "He'll soon be here, and take you out."

"I thought you said that he wouldn't come," Red Claw said before lunging at the mink.

Tundra shrugged as she dodged again. "I lied. He's coming for you. And now would be the worst time, wouldn't it Red Claw?"

Red Claw paused for a while, eyes darting back and forth as his mind thought of the situation. If Buck was coming, this was not what Red Claw had in mind for his foe. He was not ready for Buck.

Out of the night sky, the sound of a mammoth call resounded through the air. It sounded so close, Red Claw wondered if it was below his own paws.

"That's him, Red Claw. He's coming for ya," Tundra said with a smile so chilling, Red Claw could see Buck in every tooth. "You should watch out. He's probably smiling."

A few seconds later, the ice ship gave a large lurch as if something large ran into it. The two mammals on the boom were nearly knocked off, scrambling to stay on and burning their paws in their clumsy grabbing. They were holding on tight enough that the next lurch that caused the whole ship to tip over didn't shake them loose.

Tundra, realizing that she was falling anyway, watched as the ground rushed toward her. At the last minute, she jumped away to avoid being crushed by the boom.

* * *

><p>Dr. Yew couldn't remember if he had been able to run as fast or as long as he did that night ever in his entire life. Adrenaline was fuel enough for him to continue to run in circles out of reach of the two weasels and the mole that were screaming for the juices of his love. He didn't have a plan, and his mind was too busy panicking to think of one. There was no one he could run to for help; the minks were busy with their own fights. The short times he was able to focus on an individual, he could see that the minks were out numbered and out matched, some of the bleeding or beaten into submission.<p>

When the fire began, it only increased Dr. Yew's fleeing instincts. The melting ice on the deck became slippery, hindering everyone. Everyone except for the beaver, who's clawed, webbed feet were designed to move on ice and through water. He didn't even notice when he lost his pursuers as they tripped over each other.

The first lurch of the ship made him stop and he could tell something had changed. Moving to the closest railing, he looked down to spot two adult mammoths taking a step back away from the ship. As the ship rocked from the first lurch, the mammoths charged again. The ship tipped over, and Dr. was catapulted off the deck. It happened so suddenly that the beaver had been unprepared. As he was airborne, the pineapple left his loving embrace in a spinning fall.

Dr. Yew, panic pumping his heart just as fast as his passion had, reached out to the tropical fruit. "Nooooooo!" he shouted, tears springing into his eyes. As he landed heavily in a drift of snow, he lost sight of the oval fruit. The air was filled with debris, some of it impeding his vision and other being the dangerous kind that can give you a really sore head. Dr. Yew moved through the snow and fire fearlessly, calling out to his beloved.

* * *

><p>Once Manny and Ellie had dispatched the ice ship, they moved on to threaten the sabers and wolves, keeping Peaches nearby who stared at everything with big wide eyes.<p>

"Come on, mates," Buck shouted, leaping from mammoth to the ice ship's side. "This way."

Crash, Eddie, and the three minks followed him, climbing the icy wall with sordid weapons in their mouths. Diego called that he'd catch them on the other side, running around the ship where the action would be. He wasn't going to miss this.

When Buck came to the tipped rail of the ship, he glanced back at the others to check on their progress. To his surprise, not far behind Crash and Eddie was Tundra's grandfather, grunting like a pig but quickly surpassing the opossum twins.

"I thought you'd stay behind," Buck said, helping the elderly mink up onto the rail.

"I'm not going to let you mess things up," he grumbled after he spat his cane out of his mouth. "My grand-daughter has been through quite enough."

"Do what ya gotta do. I assume you can keep up," Buck said with a knowing wink.

Once the others had caught up, he jumped down onto the tilted deck, sliding all the way. At the bottom, he landed on the ground with a flourished flip. Tundra's grandfather only skidded to a halt on the snow, and the others ended up tumbling onto their back-ends into the snow.

"Go where the others are, and help them back to the mammoths.. Stay in pairs, and call out if ya need my help," Buck told them, and went off on his own. Three groups of two went in different directions, disappearing into the mist of snow and ash. There were moaning and crying out all around them. In one direction, he heard the sound of a saber growling, and Buck hoped that was only Diego.

It didn't take him long to run into a pirate, who was alone and looked shocked from the fall. The spotted weasel quickly knocked him out, and moved along. He then found a couple of minks still fighting with pirates. He knocked those pirates' heads together, and ordered the minks to climb up the ice ship, explaining that the mammoths on the other side.

After rescuing a mink whose leg was trapped under some debris, he heard the sound of wailing not far away. With the injured mink leaning against him, Buck went to investigate. What he saw was so shocking that part of him died that day.

Kneeling in the snow and surrounded by yellow juices staining the snow, Dr. Yew held what remained of Buck's wife. She was crushed underneath a charred, broken piece of the lower boom, fire still crackling around the rough skin. The beaver was sobbing and wailing into the green fronds that were clenched in his paws.

Solemnly, Buck set the mink down and went to stand behind the psychiatric assistant. Gently, he reach a paw out to pat the heaving shoulders of the morning mammal. "She's in a better place now, mate," he said, a lump coming to his throat.

Dr. Yew took a sobbing breath, and whispered, "She didn't deserve this."

"Do any of us?"

"I loved her," Dr. Yew said suddenly with conviction. "You didn't deserve her."

This revelation was new to Buck, but it didn't affect him like he thought it would. The pineapple had been his companion for over two years. She had helped him through the troubles of isolation. She had been a lover, a friend and a thin line that held onto the last of his sanity. At one point, she had been his everything.

And yet she was nothing, just a pile of pulp and oozing juices that had no tongue to speak with, no paws to touch, no mind to think and no lips to kiss. Buck had thought that if she was taken out of his life, he would have nothing. He would be nothing but a mindless animal that lost any free will of his own.

But there was Tundra. She wasn't by his side physically, but, without his knowledge, she had built her own line to him. And she wasn't a thin line, but a thick cable that grounded his sanity to himself. It was she, not the pineapple, that was preventing Buck from loosing himself in the abyss of madness.

If only he had seen his love for the mink sooner, he would have held onto her tightly. He would have been there when Red Claw attacked, and she would not be in this danger. Even if she didn't love him back, he would have gladly fought for her safety. Even if she was in the arms of that Rocky fellow, he would have done anything for her.

"Come on, mate," Buck told the doctor. "We can't stay here."

"No!" Dr. Yew shouted, pushing the weasel alone. "Just leave us alone. She'd still be alive if it weren't for you."

Buck could think of a million things to say to the beaver, but knowing how a tropical fruit can hold a male's heart, he didn't say anything. He just knocked Dr. Yew out with the flat of his blade, and dragged him back to the injured mink.

"Here," he said as he handed the mink his tooth knife. "Someone may come around to help. If not, I'll be back." As he was running away, he called back, "Don't loose that. I'll want it back."

* * *

><p>When Tundra landed from her fall, she tried to roll smoothly, but twisted her left front paw in the process. Biting back a cry, she tried to move the injured limb. After making sure it wasn't broken, she moved carefully with her eyes sweeping the ground and the horizon in all directions. She had dropped her knife in the fall and hoped it was close by. There was no sign of Red Claw, but there was so much ash in the air that he could be a few feet away and she wouldn't know.<p>

Out of pure luck, she saw an indentation in the snow where she found her knife. She then planned on finding her allies. There were some very angry mammoth parents that shouldn't be hard to find, and her people had to be spread all over. It shouldn't be hard to find someone.

She tried not to think of Buck. Her mind kept bouncing back and forth on this, wondering if he had heard that she was captured. Or maybe he came for his wife. It was an issue she didn't want to contemplate it at this moment.

Sneaking as quietly as she could, she tried to stay close to the fires since her reddish brown fur wouldn't help camouflage her against the snow, and being able to see was more important than stealth.

"Help!" a voice called out from beyond a pile of burning wood.

Tundra had to do some navigating before she could arrive at the source of the call. It was a pirate, his front paw trapped under a chunk of ice. She recognized him, a badger with a horrible temper. She remember how, when Red Claw was looking, he'd gruffly push the minks around and shout threats at them. But then there was that time he did hide her away from Crowleg so she could get a few hours of sleep. And when she was about to collapse, he gave her water and some food, chuckling that he liked to see the twisted task master be shown a thing or two.

There was no debate on whether or not she should help; Tundra jumped right in. First, she grabbed two pieces of wood, one that was on fire and one that wasn't. She gave the one on fire to the badger to hold in his other paw.

"Hold this to the ice. Try and get it to melt," she instructed while using the other stick to wedge under the ice as a lever. It wasn't easy with her injured paw, but with the two of them working, they were able to free him within minutes.

The badger, in a gruff way, thank the mink with a small bow of his head. Without another word, the pirate limped away in a direction away from the ship, out into the storm.

Exhausted from her exertion, Tundra needed a rest. From the melted ice, she was able to get a drink to help her dry throat from breathing in the ash. As she was straightening her back, she spotted in the reflection of the ice a dark figure creeping up on her. Even with her quick reflexes, she wasn't fast enough from stopping Red Claw from grabbing her from behind and holding his long nails against her neck.

"I've got you, my pretty," he hissed, his words sounding wet.

The smell of blood was powerful. Out of the corner of her eye, Tundra could see blood leaking out of the pack rat's mouth, probably from a broken tooth. Knowing that the pirate captain was at the end of his temper, she didn't wait for him to act first. She buried her knife's handle into his stomach and then stomped on where she thought his paw would be. Grunts told her she hit her mark, but the claws clamped onto her throat tighter. As her air was cut off, she struggled away from Red Claw's grip despite the scratches they left behind. When that didn't work, she turned her knife around and slashed.

Red Claw pushed her away with a shout. When Tundra turned to face him, she saw that her knife had sliced open his side. It wasn't deep, but it was bleeding freely. Tundra felt sick. This was the first time she had spilled another mammal's blood. Even if it was Red Claw's, she wished she didn't have to do it.

The pack rat, his eyes almost glowing with malice, charged at her. Bloody foam flecked from his mouth, and blood from his side splattered the snow. It was as if he didn't feel the pain and he leaped at her. His anger seemed to enhance his strength and speed as he struck at the female that had defied him so many times.

Tundra's instincts told her that this was a moment of flight rather than fight, and she took off running. Not knowing what else to do, she tried to find the most difficult path so she might loose her pursuer. But whether it was over debris or through fire, the enraged pirate kept after her, leaving behind a scent of singed fur.

Not long into their chase, Tundra came to a dead end with yet another familiar face blocking her way. And this one was not so pleasant as the badger.

Crowleg was at first surprised, then pleased at the sight of Tundra running toward him. He spread out his paws so that she had nowhere to go but to him.

Before the female mink could turn around, Red Claw had caught up and boxed her in. She turned to watch as he slowed down to a prowl, his bloody smile eerie in the fiery glow. Not sure which way to turn, Tundra was constantly switching her sights from one foe to the other. On one paw, she was sure she could take Crowleg, despite the wildcat being twice his captain's size. But she was pretty sure she wouldn't get the chance; Red Claw was sure to rip into her once her back was turned.

Just when thoughts of giving up were looking like her only alternative, a familiar call vibrated over their heads. Out of the darkness, a blur dropped from above and landed at Tundra's side. Three pairs of eyes widened at the new comer, each with a different expression.

"Hey, it's Buck," Crowleg said rather unintelligibly as he pointed a retracted claw at the weasel. "Hey, you stole my eye-patch idea."

Single eye met single eye. Buck, in his casual way walked over to the pirate. "Crowleg, the difference between us, is that I actually _lost_ an eye," Buck shouted the last bit at the feline as he reached out and pulled the pirate's eye-patch away to let it snap back. In that second, everyone could see that Crowleg had two fully functional eyes.

Snarling from the pain, Crowleg tried to swipe away at the weasel, but Buck had already stepped calmly away.

"I think you should handle the pussy cat," Buck said as he winked at Tundra. "Red Claw is mine."

"With pleasure," Tundra said with a smirk. She relished the chance to take on Crowleg. He was lower than dirt, a piece of scum that seemed by far worse than Red Claw because he took pleasure from causing others pain, not because he gained anything from it, but because he liked it and could do it without repercussions. While she was pleased to see Buck had come, she was still at odds with her emotions. For one, did he come for her or the pineapple? For another, why did he give her such a cool reception? It was as if they did not know each other.

In a flash, all four mammals converged, oblivious of the other two.

Tundra, remembering the sickening feeling of cutting into flesh with her knife, used her weapon in a different way. She used handle and the flat of the blade instead of the sharp edge, battering her opponent where he was weakest. The pirate was larger, but that only made it easier for her to dodge his attacks and slip in to hit his ribs and pressure points.

Whether it was the fact that he was too proud to run away or that he'd have to go through Red Claw to do it, the wildcat remained to the bitter end. Even as he fell to the snow, completely knocked out after a blow to the skull, his body still twitched as if trying to continue the fight.

Once Crowleg was down, Tundra gave a weary sigh. She was tired of everything, including thinking about Buck. Despite her fatigue, her body remained tense as if it were readying for another attack. Lifting up her paws, she could see them trembling, and her left one ached even more than before. She needed sleep more than anything else.

Lifting her head up, her eyes widened in amazement. She had learned how to fight from Buck, but what she was seeing was nothing she had ever imagined.

Sparring against each other, unarmed, it was evident that the two were equals in their ring. Their movements were as graceful as dancers, but as deadly as a snake strike. Buck movements were quick, and almost invisible. He took advantage of his long body, using everything he had available as a weapon, striking every chance he had. But Red Claw had power behind his attacks, and his nails showed his name sake as he slashed at the weasel. Drops of blood had dotted the snow like a macabre constellation of stars.

The fight, while dreadful, was one of the most amazing sights that Tundra had seen. With the fire and sparks in the background, Tundra could easily imagine that humans might mistake them for some sort of war gods. It occurred to the mink that she could end the fight by helping out Buck, but then, Buck looked as if he were having far too much fun.

The ending of the fight came rather abruptly. Red Claw managed to get a particularly strong hold on Buck's throat as he pushed his enemy into the snow. If the weasel hadn't positioned his front paw between the pack rat's claws and his neck, he might not have been able to break the hold. But since he did, Red Claw was unable to choke him. With a carefully aim punch to the pack rat's already hurt side, Buck was able to loosen the hold on his throat more. Once the pirate captain was gasping for air from the pain, Buck kicked out with his strong legs, pushing Red Claw as far as he could. The rat slammed into a wall of debris with a thunk, and Red Claw slipped to the snow.

It was only when the pack rat didn't get back onto his hind paws after a minute that Buck was able to relax. He slipped out of fight mode and back to his swaggering self. Grinning from ear to ear, he turned to Tundra and pause.

And suddenly Buck was seeing the mink in a whole new light, with her form outlined by the crackling fire, making her pelt glow. Her fur was puffed out and askew, a sign of the rough times she had. Ash was smeared in random spots on her fur, one particularly large smudge on her nose. He could tell she favored her left front paw, and could see places where Red Claw had managed to scratch her. The most visible wound was the one on her ear, black blood crusted all over it. Buck could even see through the wound, foretelling a hole would be left behind after she healed.

Tundra was looking at him with a familiar expression of amazement, her blue eyes opened as wide as they could get. Buck always knew she was beautiful, but at this moment, she was more beautiful than he had ever seen her.

As he approached her, Buck realized that he had no idea what he was going to say to her now that he recognized his feelings for her. He couldn't just blurt out that he loved her, and he wasn't going to say something mushy. He had some thoughts of explaining himself and revealing it to her slowly. Or maybe he should wait until they were in a better situation before bearing himself to her.

In the end, when he was face to face with her, his mouth opened up and said the first thing that crossed his mind, which sounded good until he spoke them. "My wife is back there. I found her. . ."

Tundra believed that she was completely in charge of her emotions. But when she heard those words, a dam of anger rose into her and she released the fastest way she could.

With all her strength, she punched Buck in the mouth. Words started flowing from her mouth soon after, releasing all the pent up frustration she was holding back.

"How dare you not be here when I need you? Do you have any idea what I've been through? Where were you all this time?"

Taken aback by her actions, Buck's paw immediately went to his mouth when he felt the pain. He could taste blood and he was sure he had a loose tooth. It had been a very, very long time since he'd been punched like that.

It made him love her even more.

As she was still rambling, Buck tried to placate her. "Angel-girl, if you'd just let me explain."

"At least two days without sleep and food, and you have the gall to. . . what did you say?" Tundra interrupted herself, a chill running through her fur. Hearing him use that silly nick name once more was enough to quench the anger running through her veins.

Before Buck was able to repeat himself, Tundra grabbed her face and kissed him. Their lips met, and Tundra felt the last couple of days melt away from her.

Realizing what she was doing, Tundra quickly pushed herself away, heat moving to her checks in embarrassment. What had she just done?! "I'm so sorry about that," Tundra said, not know what else to say when you just kissed someone. "I've been under a lot of stress, and I don't know what had gotten into me. Wha. . I don't know. . ."

Before she could say another word, Buck had gravitated toward her and locked her in the same embrace, his lips moving against hers. As his paws cradled her head so she couldn't move away again, she had place her paws on his chest.

They had no idea if their embrace was timeless or had only lasted a few seconds. But they both broke it at the same time at the sound of a throat clearing.

Standing a few yards away and looking very embarrassed at the interruption, Diego stood. "Uh, we've found most of the minks and have been rounding up the pirates and tying them up. But we have a hostage situation, and we might need some help."

Tundra, shaking from the outpouring of passion she experienced, could only look upon the saber with wide eyes. She had a fear that what just happened wasn't real, that Buck would think it was a mistake. It wasn't until Buck looked down at her with an expression that spoke that everything would be alright, that she relaxed.

"Sounds like fun, mate," Buck said, his usual grin on his face. "You up for it, Angel-girl."

"Definitely," Tundra said, a sigh shivering through her body as she felt Buck take her paw as he led her away on their next adventure.

* * *

><p>With the hostage situation wrapped-up, every mammal in the vicinity had gathered together. The minks were grouped together, taking warmth from the remaining fire and congratulating themselves in surviving the ordeal. The pirates had also been grouped together, scraps of burnt rope being used to tie them up. Manny, Ellie and Diego were stationed in a triangle, surrounding the pirates in case any of them had any ideas about escape. The wolves and sabers of the crew had entirely disappeared, as well as the birds.<p>

Only the prone form of Dr. Yew didn't stir, and everyone left him alone.

"So what do we do with them?" Manny asked as he loomed over the pirates.

Buck shrugged as he played with his knife. "Well, we have two options. We can kill them. . ." Here he paused as a few of the pirates started moaning and pleading. "Or we can let them go. Your choice."

The pirates were too afraid to turn their heads to look at the male mammoth, fearful that his face would reveal the former choice rather than the latter.

"Ya better kill me, Buck," Red Claw said beyond his broken and bleeding teeth. "If ya don't, I'll be back. Oh, ya might be able t; disappear again, but ya can't make a whole colony o' minks vanish. I'll slaughter every last one o' them, until one o' us is dead." The pack rat started to laugh, red spittle splashing out of his mouth.

Buck, looking just as grim as he could, approached the battered rat with his knife raised as if he intended to gut him. But before he could reach his nemesis, a crooked cane bashed Red Claw's crown.

"You call yourselves pirates!" Tundra's grandfather shouted at the restrained mammals. "A bunch of cowardly bullies, that's what I'd say what you are. All of you have soiled the name of pirate. Shame on you."

"And what would a mangy codger like you know of pirates?" Red Claw sneered. "Did you tell stories while you lay snug in your ritzy homes, growing fat while dreaming of adventure?"

Tundra's grandfather frowned deeply. "Why, back in my day, the name pirate actually stood for something. You mock the old stories, but they are true. Pirates didn't used to kill and steal indiscriminately and excessively. We only did so to survive. We believed in the exploration of the unknown and battling the elements at their worse."

"We? Ah, so you have experienced a life as a pirate," Red Claw continued to mock the elderly mink. "What did you do, run away as a pup so you could see the great Captain Firefur? Did you run crying back to mummy when things became hard, and now you think you're big because you were a 'pirate'?" As the pack rat chuckled, many of his crew followed his example.

Even as they continued to laugh at him, Tundra's grandfather straightened his back with both paws on his cane, his jaw set in a determined grimace.

"Ach, why don't you just show 'em up, and tell them your Firefur already!" an elderly voice from behind him shouted.

Angrily, Tundra's grandfather turned around to shout at his wife, his cane shaking, "Dang it, woman. Let me do it my way!"

A sudden reverence fell upon the mammals, all eyes turning to the twisted, old mink. His pelt was graying, but in the firelight, one could almost say that it was on fire.

Buck remembered seeing Tundra in the firelight, the brilliance that surrounded her due to her coloring that she inherited from her grandfather. He couldn't believe that he didn't see it earlier. Even though most of the sea minks were gone, everyone knew that they all had the reddish tint to their fur.

Most of the pirates' expressions were in awe at Tundra's grandfather, who just glared down at them. They started whispering of his past deeds and the legends surrounding the great mink.

Realizing that he was loosing his hold on his men, Red Claw shouted, "He's lyin'. Firefur died a long time ago. He's just playing with yer minds."

"Yeah, I'm Firefur. Or at least one of them. It was a name that passed down from my father, and my father's father. You've been on my ship, haven't you, son?" Firefur asked, leaning down into Red Claw's face. "She was a beauty, wasn't she? Nice and smooth, quick through the snow. She always leaned to the starboard side a bit. And then there was my secret that I left in my captain's cabin. I heard that you and the weasel found it."

At that Red Claw seemed more aware, his piercing eyes locked on Firefur. "The map?!"

Tundra's grandfather smiled. "Aye, the map. Kept my treasure there where no one could find it."

Moving as if in a frenzy, Red Claw struggled in his bonds. "Where did it lead? What was there? Shiny stones? What was it? Tell me."

The elderly mink just narrowed his eyes at Red Claw, but he didn't answer any of his questions. "I abandoned my ship where I thought that nobody would find it because of that map." He then addressed the other pirates. "I nearly lost everything being a pirate. My whole family was lost, either dying young or becoming so obsessed with the life-style that they no longer had any free will. Your soul belonged to the ship from the day you join. The only way to leave was through blood.

"If it wasn't for my wife, I would not have wanted to leave. She, also a pirate, shared my view of not wanting to raise a family into piracy and start the cycle again. We abandoned our crew and hid the ship. And thus, the name of Firefur passed into legend.

"Now, if any of you actually has any smarts in those things they call a head, then you'll listen to me. From this moment forward, you are now all dead. And unlike the real dead, you have a very important choice ahead of you. Are you going to be reborn as a pirate again, and sell your soul to another ship? Or is there another life you're wanting to lead?"

Many were silent at this revelation. The first to respond was a pair of otters that Tundra recognized as the ones she saved. They arose onto their feet and walked up to Buck.

"We never wanted to be pirates. We were pressed into service," one told the weasel as they both held out their bonds.

"Good lads," Buck said as he released them.

All watched as they ran off into the darkness, as if they wanted to be as far away as possible.

After that, a few more came forward. Some spoke a few words of thanks or apology, others didn't say anything at all. After a while, no more came forward. But more than half of the pirates remained. And then suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Glacier stood up.

"Some of us know nothing else but piracy, but we aren't exactly like the Captain," the white ferret said eloquently. "Release me, Buck, and I will do what you're not willing to do. I'll kill Red Claw."

"Traitor! Mutiny!" Red Claw shouted and then released a string of curses out of his mouth.

"Most of these mammals feared Red Claw, but if I was captain, we'd leave you and your kind alone," Glacier said coolly. "Revenge has no place in piracy. It is not a logical use of energy."

Buck went face to face with the ferret, his one eye studying the emotionless face. "I know you, Glacier. You're just as much a killer as Red Claw. You may even be more dangerous."

"Yes, but so are you," Glacier said with not a flinch. "And you have changed, if I haven't missed my guess. You know me. Yes, I won't blink to kill another, but when have I ever done so out of revenge. Or for fun. It has always been those who get in my way."

"An' am I in your way," Buck challenged.

"We both know the answer to that, Buck," Glacier said nonchalantly. "But I am bound. We are in your paws. You already have made it clear that you won't kill us. Eventually you'll have to let us all go."

"There's still the choice of just leavin' you all here bound," Buck considered.

"And what would that accomplish?" Glacier asked. "You can't get rid of all pirates, Buck. We're here to stay forever. And you know the good that comes from being a pirate. The adventure. The endless boundaries. The freedom. Do you really want that to end?"

Buck did not like being manipulated, and Glacier's pretty words were swaying him. "If you insist on being so different than Red Claw, why didn't you mutiny a long time ago?"

Glacier looked at Red Claw's loathing gaze. "Call it a twisted loyalty I felt to him. He was an efficient captain, and I did not wish to have the attention. But I was still tempted."

Buck grunted. "You owe me for this, Glacier," he said and released the ferret. "I just 'ope my gut isn't wrong this one time."

"Hopefully, I can get far away before you can ever cash that favor," Glacier said seriously.

Buck laughed, and handed his knife over to the new captain.

The ferret, in his emotionless way, said not a word. He took Buck's knife from the weasel carefully, and moved along the pirates, releasing most of them. "Those that were the most loyal to Red Claw," Glacier explained as he gestured to the pawful of remaining pirates, which included Red Claw and Crowleg. "We will dispatch of them when you are gone."

"No," Manny disagreed. He did not like all this pirate talk. While it did make sense to make sure the pirates wouldn't hurt anyone ever again, he did not like the idea of killing. "Release them now. Diego will make sure they go far, far away as fast as they can.

"With pleasure," Diego said while licking his lips. While wonton killing wasn't his forte, he did need a snack.

Buck, with his knife back from Glacier, started releasing the remaining pirates leaving Red Claw for last. When one pirate was free, he ran off, not even waiting for the others. When it came to the pack rat's turn, Buck sliced the bonds with one slash.

Before Buck could react, Red Claw grabbed the weasel's head and pulled forward.

The others took a step forward to assist Buck, but the weasel put a paw out to stop them. Everyone watch in silence as Red Claw whispered something in Buck's ear before smiling wickedly, turning around and walking into the darkness.

Diego followed the banished pirates, his snarls urging them to move faster.

"And now it's time for us to go home," Manny said, uneasy with the pirates still loose around them. "And if I see another pirate, it will be too soon."

"One more thing, mate," Buck said, a mischievous smile on his face. "I was hopin' tha' the newly dubbed captain over here would do me a favor before we go."

Glacier, not at all surprised, said, "I knew it was too good to be true."

"Oh, it is. As your first duty as captain, you could do me th' honor of marryin' me and' my girl," Buck said proudly, pulling Tundra closer to him by her waist.

"Wha?!" Tundra exclaimed at the same time as many others did. "But Buck, this is a little sudden. Right now?"

"Why not? I hear it's better not t' have a long engagement," Buck chuckled.

"We're not even engaged," Tundra half-yelled, her arms raised. "And you just lost your wife. I don't think this is the right time."

Buck looked as if he were able to say something, but realized that everyone, mammoths, minks, pirates, opossums and sloth, were waiting to hear what he had to say. Grabbing Tundra's paw, he pulled her away from the group, already hearing a few sigh in disappointment for not being able to eavesdrop.

Once they were alone, Buck took both of Tundra's paws in his. Then his mind went blank, giving him no hint of how he was going to convince his love that they needed to be married right at that minute. He could already feel himself slipping into the darkness of insanity; his mind already trying to destroy the ties he had with the mink. How did he tell her that he needed her that badly?

How did he put into words that he knew she deserved a nice wedding with her whole family around her, but he wanted her to give that up? Now that his eyes were open to his love for her, he was able to recognize from his memories the expression of love from her. He knew that she had been pining after him for a while, being there for him even in his madness. She had stayed with him through the worst of his insanity, still loving him as he clung to his delusions of marriage to a hideous pineapple. She was even willing to pretend for him that what he saw was the absolute truth. How much heartache did she experience? How many tears did he cause to fall from her eyes? Remembering the intense fight in Frost's home, he had a pretty good idea of the hurt she had hid from him. After all of that and her ordeal with the pirates, did he have the right to say that he needed her to do this for him? Did he have the right to ask this of her when she deserved more?

The biggest problem that Buck seemed to be encountering was finding words to express all of this. He was never one for words; they often came out of his mouth when he didn't need them, and when he did, they stuck together and would come out.

"Oh, heck with it," Buck said out loud. He grabbed Tundra to him, dipped her and kissed her again. A little thrill ran through him as he felt her kiss him back and cling to him as well. This time, he wasn't going to break away until he was good and ready.

Both seemed out of breath once they finished their kiss as if they had forgotten how to breathe. As Tundra looked at Buck with her wide blue eyes, the weasel became nervous. Once again, he felt the build up of words that he couldn't force out.

To his surprise, he didn't have to. Tundra smiled up him and whispered, "Yes."

"Huh?" Buck wasn't sure what was going on.

"Yes, let's get married," Tundra repeated.

Once he realized what was going on, Buck let out a whoop and swung his love in a circle. When he had stopped, he cupped her face and gave her a quick smooch. "You really are an angel," he marveled.

Paw in paw, they raced back to the others. From the commotion that went on, everyone knew what was going to happen next. Tundra looked around at the ragtag collection of mammals that watched her as she approached Glacier with Buck. They were streaked with ash, looking exhausted and ready to collapse. Many smelled strongly of wet and burnt fur.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give ya a real weddin'," Buck apologized, finally able to say something.

Tundra had tears in her eyes. "No, this is perfect."

The ceremony wasn't anything very special, considering that Glacier was in charge. He quoted the definition of marriage in a very calculating way, and then asked the couple if they would take the other as long as they lived. After their "I do"s, he quickly pronounced them weasel and wife. He refused to tell them to kiss.

They did anyway.

A roar of cheers resounded all around. Ellie and Sid, as well as many of the minks, were sniffing and dabbing at wet eyes. Half of the pirates were bawling like babies, and blew their noses into their paws before wiping them off in the snow.

Soon after that, the minks and their rescuers left. It had turned awkward, especially with Glacier glaring at them, especially when the ferret realized his newly claimed ship was on its side and he had no way of moving it.

* * *

><p>As the group traveled, most of the minks rode on top of Manny or Ellie. The first few days of her marriage life, Tundra slept. It was no wonder after what she pushed her body through. Her grand-parents, who watch over her as she slept, also discovered the many bruises and scratches she had obtained. Combined with her twisted paw and damaged ear, she had a lot of healing to do. She only awakened long enough to eat, drink and ask where Buck was. The mink almost acted as if the last couple of days were a dream, always asking where she was and what was happening. In those rare moments of being awake, the others called to Buck. But when the weasel arrived at his wife's side, she'd already be asleep. He was content to watch her breath, touching her face tenderly before returning to Diego to help navigate.<p>

At night, when the group rested around a fire that Sid proudly made for all, Buck would organize a party to go out looking for food. When the sun was barely up, sometimes one of the mammals woke up in time to see that rare moment of Buck sleeping. He often was laying next to his new bride, an arm wrapped protectively (or possessively) around her.

The mass of mammals moved slowly for the sake of the baby mammoth. Peaches was too big for her parents to carry, even for a short amount of time, and she had a limp from the wolf attack. It was also hard for the mammoths to find enough food for themselves as they traveled, and they needed it considering they fasted on the trip to the ice ship. Because of this, the return trip took twice as long.

* * *

><p>Many of the minks that had missing friends and family often returned to the clearing where the pirates first attacked. They gathered in the morning, looking for any sign of the weasel and the mammoths that were their only hope. They did the same in the afternoon until the sun went down.<p>

Among the minks were Frost and Tundra's parents. Day after day they watched and waited diligently. By the fifth day, some were loosing hope. Minks who had traveled a long ways to get to the wedding went home, making those who stay behind promise to send word if there was any sign of lost loved ones. Some gave up altogether and arranged funerals for those that were gone. As each sunset or sunrise came, less and less came. On the morning of the seventh day, even those that kept coming looked haggard and doubtful.

Just when they were about to leave for the morning, the sun was blocked by a massive body. Minks raised their heads and squinted at the shadow in the bright light. A cheer was let out as a second body came into sight, both now recognizable as mammoths. As the elephantine mammals came closer, followed by a smaller mammoth and a saber, minks appeared on their back and started calling out names. Even before the mammoths stopped, minks were climbing down and racing to their families and friends.

On Ellie's back, Buck was shaking the reddish-brown furred mink that was still sleeping. "Angel-girl. We're here," he told her.

"Hmmmm," Tundra murmured groggily. She had been staying awake longer and longer, but she was still sluggish when she first woke up.

"I see your parents. And Frost," Buck told her, smiling as she blinked at him. He wasn't sure if his wife had understood him in her sleepiness, so he picked her up in his arms.

Ellie had stopped and was watching all the happy reunions happening around her, not wanting to take another step lest she step on someone. After having minks climbing down her sides and face, she wasn't surprised that Buck slid down her trunk, his wife in his arms. She smiled at how cute of a couple they were.

"Mother! Father!" Tundra exclaimed, now wide awake from Buck moving her around. She was set down by Buck so that she could rush to her parents' arms. They rocked in their embrace, tears coming to eyes. "Frost!" Her cousin was patiently waiting at the side until it was her turn for a hug.

At the very edge of the glade, a lonely badger watched and waited. He had been coming just as diligently as the minks, offering free counseling for those who needed someone to talk to in their time of need. He waited until the single beaver climbed off one of the mammoths and slowly move to his fellow doctor. The beaver moved slowly, his shoulders suggesting deep morning, making him seem older than he was. The badger patted his associate on the back, and helped him home.

Chatter was filling up the glade with minks explaining the whole story to others, words mixing together with crying and sobbing. As Tundra was telling Frost and her parents the story, Buck moved behind her. He felt nervous with so many mammals around and nothing to do, and being close to Tundra calmed him down. Just as he started to slip an arm around her, he felt her pulled away.

"You stay away from my daughter. Haven't you done enough, you, you, ruffian!" Tundra's mother shouted at the weasel, getting between the couple.

"Mother, he didn't do anything," Tundra defended Buck, frowning. "He saved everyone."

"I heard what those pirates said. They were after him," Tundra's mother declared. "In my book, that means he's just as bad as them."

Some of the minks around them had turned to find out what the outburst was about. When they heard what Tundra's mother had said, some vocalized their agreement, giving Buck scathing glares. But just as loudly were those who had been captured by the pirates. They spoke loudly for Buck, declaring him a hero.

"Besides, mother, you're kind of stuck with him now," Tundra said boldly, going to Buck and holding his paw.

Her mother gave her a confused look, not quite understanding what that meant.

Frost, however, quickly figured it out. "Oh my glacier, you two eloped!" she blurted out.

Tundra's mother's eyes went wide, and she gave a half cry as she fainted dead away. Her husband was soon at her side patting her cheek.

Just at that time, Tundra's grand-parents were brought down from Ellie's back by Manny with his trunk. Gently, the large mammoth set the two elderly minks down.

"I heard a cry. Don't tell me you already told Clarrissa," Tundra's grandfather said loudly.

"See for yourself, Pop-pop," Tundra said, gesturing at her prone mother.

"Eh, she's taking it better than I thought," Tundra's grandmother said with a chuckle.

After a while, the female mink was brought back into consciousness and placed back on shaky feet. She reached out to her daughter imploringly. "Please tell me this isn't true. I realize now that marrying Rocky might not have been the best match, but you didn't have to do something THIS drastic to get out of it."

"Good luck with the mother-in-law," a mink whispered into Buck's ear.

Tundra huffed. "Mother, I'm going to tell you this once, and, whether you believe it or not, it is the truth. I love Buck. And I'm tired, so we're going home. _Our_ home. Together."

With face aghast, Tundra's mother turned to her husband. "Do something! We're about to loose her again."

The passive, male mink looked his daughter in the eye as he squared his shoulders and walked toward her. He then looked at Buck while extending a paw out to the weasel. In a firm and deep voice, he told Buck, "Congratulations, son."

Buck smiled and shook the mink's paw with a gruff thanks. Tundra hugged her father around his neck while kissing his check.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Tundra's mother, now twice as stunned as before, seemed to be suffering from a seizure in her mouth. "I can. . . Why ah. . . How cah. . ." Her husband wrapped an arm around her, which stopped her unusual protests.

After that, Tundra experienced as close to a big wedding as she would. The whole group of mammals followed them as they made their way to the hole in the ice. Freshly picked flowers were thrown into the air much like a traditional mink wedding. Friends and relatives were constantly rushing in to kiss and hug both the bride and groom. Many of the unmarried female relatives left giggling since they left after kissing Buck full on the mouth, a silly tradition that Tundra tolerated only because she'd never seen Buck embarrassed before.

When they arrived at the hole, a few more last well-wishers prevented their departure. Finally, Tundra turned to her mother, her eyes beseeching for a few positive words before she was gone.

Now that the shock had worn off, Tundra's mother grabbed her daughter's hand lovingly. "Must you leave?" she asked, tears coming again. "It seems that I just got you back. I feel like I'm loosing you again."

"Mother, I just got married. It's not like I'm migrating," Tundra reassured her maternal parent.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she visits, mom," Buck said with a wink. "At least, once the honeymoon is over," he added huskily, as he looked at his bride. His words cause Tundra to catch her breath and his mother-in-law to clutch her chest at the indiscretion.

Now that their good-byes had been said, Buck clung to his wife making sure her arms were around his neck. A wave of a paw signaled his final farewell before he jumped into the hole. The entire audience gasped, many not realizing the reason they had gathered around the hole. They craned their necks over the edge, cautious not to fall in themselves. At first they could only see mist. Then they heard a shrill whistle echo from below. The mist cleared, and below them was suddenly filled with a flock of giant butterflies, one carrying a mink and a weasel who were clearing whooping with joy.

* * *

><p>(End of Chapter 13. From here on out, I'm answering reader's questions)<p>

Okay everybody, it's question time. I'd like to thank everyone that sent in questions to me. I received a 100% better response to my request for questions. It made me very happy so see how much support I received throughout this story. Thank you to those who have been with this fanfic from the very beginning as well as those who jumped in while in the making. This story received far more attention than I thought it would when I posted it. It's been a great run, but I'm glad it's over.

Anyway, to the questions. The first batch is from Kittysmiles, who gave me a ton of questions.

**1. When buck remembers the Pineapple, does Tundra get any less significant to him? **

I don't think she does get less significant. The problem is that Buck was never given the ultimatum: The pineapple or the mink. If he was given that choice around chapter 5, it might have turned out differently. The pineapple represents a lifeline to help him cope with his isolation, much like Tom Hanks in the movie _Castaway._ Think if Tom Hanks managed to keep Wilson (the volleyball) with him once he made it back to civilization. Even though Tom would be surrounded by people, he's been so used to having Wilson around, he might not be willing to let go of the volleyball. The same with Buck. Unconsciously, Buck believes he'll be isolated once more, and holds tight to the pineapple for that reason. But he subconsciously know that living flesh and blood is much better.

**2. Why do you think Buck chose a Pineapple as his wife?**

I think Buck chose a pineapple just because that was the first thing he found when he sunk into madness. In IA3, Manny asks when Buck sunk into madness. I believe Buck answered the question honestly, and that was the time frame when he met the pineapple.

**3. Does Captain Red claw feel any lust for Tundra?**

Probably. Tundra is hot. But I'd rather not go into that.

**4. How shiny is Tundra's coat?**

If you've ever had a Siamese cat, then you'll know how soft and shiny Tundra's coat it. At least how I imagine it. I've felt actual mink fur, and it feels much the same.

**5. Is Tundra based off you or complete imagination?**

Tundra isn't based off of me; I am much more confident in myself than Tundra. However, I feel I can relate to her because she grows so much through the story, and so have I. I feel that I've become a better person as well because of my husband, much like Tundra with Buck.

**6. What inspired this story?**

This story was inspired by fanart. While surfing Deviantart, I found a picture of Buck with his pineapple. I found the picture hilarious, and went looking for fanfiction about Buck and his pineapple. I found a few hilarious one-shots, but I also read the summaries of a lot of ocXBuck fanfics. All the ocs were basically the same: weasel or half-weasel, and they were adventurous and loved Buck right off the bat. That's when I thought: What if someone shy and wilderness-challenged met Buck? That's where Tundra came from. I also noticed in the ocXBuck fanfics they never mention the pineapple. That's when I knew I had to write this story, because the thought of someone "stealing" Buck from a pineapple like it was a daytime drama made me laugh with glee. The rest fell into place.

**7. CAn you please please please make a sequel? *puppy eyes* **

Yes, I am officially making a sequel. I've already talked about it, and will be giving a few teasers in the Love Makes You Crazy Epilogue, which should be up as we speak.

**8. If Buck and Tundra decide to live together, are there gonna be wittle baby Bucks? ( if you know what I mean :p)**

Forgive me if I'm a little preachy, but I never planned on Buck and Tundra "living together". In my head, they were going to get married. I'm very religious, and I do not believe in a couple "living together". I believe very much in marriage, especially considering I'm in one and can attest to that marriages work when both couples are in tune to each other and are willing to make sacrifices for their marriage and spouse.

But I'm getting off track. In the next fanfic, no, there won't be any children. I am not even going into that. I'm a very scientifically minded person, and I don't think that minks and weasels can have children together. And if they do, their children would be like mules or ligers. They would be sterile, and might not have what they need to survive in the wild. But since this is a fanfic, anything is possible. I just won't write about it. If anyone has any ideas, you have my permission to brainstorm. I'd like to know what everyone thinks on this subject.

**9. How old do you think buck is?**

If Buck was a human, I'd imagine him to be about 28. In my story cannon, he started life on ice ships young, about 16. He left being a pirate around the age of 25, and was under the ice for around three years. But that's just what I imagine. As for Tundra, I can see her only being 21. I always imagined that the two had a large age gap, but it doesn't matter to either of them.

**10. Is Buck better at the Violin, or bass guitar?**

Neither. Buck has no hobbies that doesn't have the risk of death.

**11. Does Tundra still brush her tail?**

Yes, just not as much as before.

**12. Is there gonna be a sequel? O_O **

Once again, yes there will be a sequel.

**I have a question for Sid: When was the last time you took a shower? **

Sid: Yay. Finally, some quality entertainment. (reads question) What's a shower?

Author: Wow! Let's move on.

* * *

><p><strong>Your Biggest Fan (awww shucks) writes:<strong>

**how old are you? I'm 13, and I'm thinking of writing a story, but, every time I sit down to write it, it turns out bad, or i get distracted, any tips? **

How old am I? I'm a little hesitant to say, but I guess I shouldn't be embarrassed by how much experience I have. I am 28 (almost 29). I've been writing fanfiction for around fifteen years, which is why I'm good at it. It's all the practice I've had. Most of what I have written in my early years I did not post. In fact, most of it was destroyed because it was super bad. I heard this advice once about writing. Your first million words is all practice.

Here are my tips for writing. I'll try not to be wordy, and I'll just make a list for ya:

1. Know your characters. Watch/read the story over and over again.

2. Don't read Fanfiction. That's how stereotypes are formed.

3. Research everything. If you have a scene that takes place on a ship, find out everything about ships.

4. Write chapter/story summaries. It keeps you on track.

5. Set a time for writing and commit to writing during that time.

6. Once you start writing, TURN OFF THE INTERNET!

7. Treat writing like a job. Don't believe in writer's block. If you were an accountant, would you get accountant's block?

8. Don't ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever give up. Never ever. I think Winston Churchill said that.

9. Finish something. You're not a writer unless you finish something.

Most of this advice I have received at writer convention panels from actual published authors. This doesn't just apply to fanfiction, but to writing original stories. I hope that helps.

* * *

><p>Georgia Claw has a few questions:<p>

**BUCK WHY YOU NO SEE HOW CRAZY YOU ARE?**  
><strong>Crash, Eddie, why are you girls? ditch the costumes and claim you have no idea what people are saying when they ask.<strong>  
><strong>also, is Shira coming? <strong>  
><strong>RED CLAW WHY YOU SO WEIRD?!<strong>  
><strong>GLACIER WHY YOU CREEP ME OUT? <strong>

Buck: I'm not crazy. The whole world is who's crazy!

Eddie: But I think this dress brings out the colors in my eyes.

Crash: Dude, it totally does. And this is why we don't have girlfriends! (Slaps Eddie) Now let's get out of these disguises and fess up, bro.

Eddie: Okay fine.

(They take off clothing)

(Pirates nearby get excited until they realize it's Crash and Eddie)

Pirate1: Hey, they're not broads.

Pirate2: Let's kill them!

(Crash and Eddie scream and run away.)

Me: I plan on Shira being in the sequel

Red Claw: It's a talent.

Glacier: If I creep you out, it's not my problem.

* * *

><p><strong>CC333 writes:<strong>

**My question for Buck is "Have you ever thought about being a Daddy and having your own kids?" **

Buck: *smiles* Never crossed my mind.

Me: It is my opinion that Buck never thinks about the future. If its not in front of him, it usually doesn't exist in Buck World.

* * *

><p><strong>BuckFan1 writes:<strong>

**Also I do have a question for Buck. when Tundra got back to the Ice Age she was cold 'cause she'd shed her winter fur. You must have done that a long time ago, so how come the cold doesn't get to you? **

Tundra: *suspicious* Yeah, why doesn't it get to you.

Buck: *shrugs* I don't know. Maybe its a female thing.

Tundra: What? No, that can't be it. What's your secret?

Buck: Males just have better circulation.

Tundra: Stupid males.

Me: As an honest answer for that question, I truly believed that the cold wouldn't affect Buck. He's one tough son-of-a-badger, and he wouldn't pay attention to something so menial as cold. He's like the prehistoric version of Chuck Norris. Buck doesn't feel the cold, the cold feels Buck.

* * *

><p><strong>One Guest writes:<strong>

**First off for Diego, how's your screenplay coming along? How did you react to the news that the man-er-saber who raised you wasn't your bio father? Is your screenplay about your unresolved daddy issues?**  
><strong>For Buck, lets say you ever get married again, would Rudy be best man, ring bearer or flower girl?<strong>  
><strong>For Crash and Eddie, from faking death to being pretty ladies, you guys have killer acting chops, ever thought of joining a theater troupe?<strong>  
><strong>For Sid, have you read and reviewd Diego's screenplay yet?<strong>  
><strong>For Eliie, if given the chance, would you plan Lord Buckminster and Lady Tundra's wedding? <strong>

Diego (looking around suspiciously): I really have no idea what you are talking about?

Buck: All of the above, mate.

Crash: Of course, dude. I'm going to be playing Bottom from _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ this summer.

Eddie: And I'm going to be Hamlet.

Sid: Yes, of course I read it. And it is absolutely fabulous.

Diego: Wait! What? No, there is no screenplay.

Sid: Oh, don't be modest. I found it underneath your bed. I cried at the end.

Diego: I'm going to kill you.

Ellie: I would if they would have given me a change. But I guess eloping is just as romantic.

* * *

><p><strong>Another Guest writes:<strong>

**A Question for Frost: what dou think of the Herd so far? **

Frost: *shrugs* It's okay. Very modern, so I'm cool with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Jillyjillyfairfax writes:<strong>

**To Buck- 1) if u consider your wife an , then what do u think makes an attractive fruit?**  
><strong>2) if the possums asked u to go log rolling with them, would u accept? <strong>  
><strong>To frost- 1)did u only write romance novels about buck and tundra or did u .write a few about other random ppl?<strong>  
><strong>2) would u ever consider posting ur stories on fanfiction?<strong>  
><strong>To Crash n' Eddie- 1) If u didn't choose to dress up as girls, what other costume would u have chosen? ? <strong>

Buck: *while smiling and tracing a pineapple shape in the air* It's all in the shape. And log rolling is for amateurs. Next weekend, I'm going to take them human riding. Those things are vicious.

Frost: No, I've only written the one about Buck and Tundra, which by the way is being sold in all stores by now. And to answer your second question. . .no. Fanfiction is for nerds.

Crash: Let's see, we've dressed up as chipmonks, badgers, sloths. . .

Eddie: A cactus and that one time we dressed up as a female saber. . .

Crash: Heh heh, yeah that was a good one.

Eddie: The question should be, what have we_ NOT_ dressed up as?


	14. Epilogue

Love Makes You Crazy

Epilogue

By Hatashi Kitty AKA Emilou

High in the treetops, far above the slower moving land dinosaurs and hidden from the flying ones, Buck and Tundra lay snuggled together in the small hammock that was strung between two branches. Before the hammock had been Buck's sleeping place when he was a bachelor, and then Tundra's once she had struck out on her own. And even though it had been made for just one body, the two of them didn't mind. Even the heat of the jungle and their own fur wasn't enough to drive them apart either.

Not even Rudy's roar enticed them away from the treetops. There were much more interesting things to do for now.

The log house had been abandoned. Neither one of them had any desire to return there, even though it provided much more shelter than the treetops. It didn't suit their lifestyle, and the memories were bitter.

They had been married for over a week now. Tundra's injuries had mostly healed, and the memories of the pirates were fading daily being replaced with bliss. She owed most of her recuperation to Buck, his scent and touch the best medicine she could ask for. The only sign that she had a run in with the pirates was the hole in her ear. She remembered that having a hole in one's ear wasn't unusual for pirates to have, and they often made stone, bone or wooden hoops to put through them. Every time she saw her own reflection, she couldn't help think that she looked a lot like a pirate. Even though her grandfather had at one time been the noble Captain Firefur from her minkling stories, she shuddered at the thought of comparing herself to some mammal like Red Claw.

Buck was aware the Tundra was feeling self-conscious about the hole in her ear, he secretly carved her an earring as a wedding present. He made it from a dark wood, and, instead of making it into the kind pirates had, this was an open flower. It was quite thin and light, and the petals covered the hole perfectly. He had just presented it to her that day, now that her ear had healed save for some tender flesh and regrowing fur.

As she lay in his arms, she could feel the wood in her ear, a reminder of her husband's love. Occasionally his paw would reach over and touch her ear and the flower, gently caressing the area. She felt at peace at that moment more than she ever had in her life.

Buck felt the same. He was not one for relaxing and lounging around. But for the first time in a long time, he didn't feel like he had to continually move around. He wasn't itching for his next adventure. Death no longer was his constant companion. At this moment, he was content to have Tundra as his new adventure.

But hidden away in his brain just on the edge of his every thought, there lurked a dark secret. It had been placed their by Red Claw, his last words ever to Buck. Even now when he recalled each syllable, it caused a shiver down his spine.

_"She's alive!"_

* * *

><p>Deep in the icy wilderness, Red Claw trudged through the snow. He had been walking day and night, only stopping for short naps and food. His vendetta against Buck burned in his breast as if it were a red, hot coal. The only thing that kept him from stopping right there and dying in the snow was the thought of plunging his claws into the soft flesh of the weasel and dying his claws red with blood.<p>

He was completely alone. The few pirates that were loyal to him at the beginning were no longer at his side, abandoning him as the pack rat had abandoned reason. But he didn't need them. He didn't want such cowardly and traitorous creatures with him. He didn't need them.

His ears twitched as he caught a soft noise behind him. It was quieter than his own paw-steps in the snow, and it was familiar. I sounded like an ice ship being pulled across the powder. Looking back, there was a spark of hope that Glacier had just been deceiving Buck, that _The Blight _was back in working order. They had found their lost captain, ready to take him aboard and follow his every order.

Turning around, he squinted his eyes to find his ship among the blinding glare of the snow. Soon, he spotted movement coming toward him. It was indeed a ship, the waves of snow that was being thrown to both sides and the sail were unmistakable. He laughed maniacally, thinking of the revenge he would wrought upon Buck and that female of his. Which would he torture first?

After a while, Red Claw looked back at the approaching ship and realized it wasn't his. The thing that gave it away was that it was a much larger ship since it had not one, but three sails. Then he could see that the wolves and sabers pulling the ship weren't tied up by single ropes; they were harnessed in teams. There were three lines of them, a pair running side by side in an organized formation. The final difference was that the ship was not made of ice, but the skeletal remains of animals.

Red Claw recognized the ship, and dread fell upon his heart. Knowing there was nowhere he could run, he stood his ground until he ship ran abreast of him. A net was thrown over him, and he was hauled up. Unceremoniously, he was spilled upon the boney deck. Pirates surrounded him, jeering loudly and howling like rabid wolves. But that all stopped as the captain of the ship stepped forward.

She was a spotted weasel, tall and well-muscled. She looked like an ordinary weasel except she had strips of rawhide wrapped around her left shoulder where her arm used to be. In her only front paw, she held a curved sword of obsidian, obviously stolen from the humans considering that no animal had been able to carve the shiny rock.

She leaned down so she was nose to nose with Red Claw, and smiled in a way that made him think of Buck.

"I 've heard that my bro has come back from the dead," she said smoothly, her obsidian sword playfully outlining her captive's throat. Unlike her last remaining family member, her words were clear and pronounce, making them sound all the more deadly. "And you're the mammal who knows where he is. Tell me, and I might not feed you to my pets."

The crew around her half laughed, half snarled as they closed in around Red Claw, waiting for him to spill his guts.

Before they do it for him.

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><p>Author's note: Just a teaser for you to see what the sequel will hold. The main antagonist will be Buck's sister, who he thought was dead all this time. The plot will also involve Captain Firefur's map.<p>

Buck and Tundra will be in the thick of things, of course. Red Claw will be in the story, as well as Diego and Shira. I have had many different views on this considering some like DiegoXShira, and some do not. I have not decided. If I see the chemistry between them as I write the sequel, then that's where I go. If not, meh. I'm not entirely in love with the couple considering Ice Age 4 did a bad job of their chemistry.

You are also wondering when the sequel will come out, the answer is, "I don't know." I'm still banging out the kinks in the story, and I have a lot of other things to do before I start writing it. If you want to make sure you get to read it once I post it, make sure you are following me as an author, and not just one story. This is what I can tell you. It will be considerably shorter than Love Makes You Crazy, and will have a lot less fluff. I also plan on having three to four chapters written before posting it on , so if I start falling behind, I can post a chapter to appease my wonderful reader.

In the meantime, I also have many other wonderful fanfics that can be read.

I also implore my readers to write a review. I have never written something that has received this much attention. It would make me so very, very happy if I can make it to 200 reviews. In the meantime, thank you all so much, and I hope to see you all again.


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